The Traveler The Marauders
by Captain Oblivious
Summary: Casey is a normal Harry Potter fan with plenty of dreams, one of which is to read a 6th Harry Potter book where Sirius isn't really dead. When she ends up in a different world, she has to decide if changing the past is worth changing the future. R&R!
1. Prologue

**Title: **_The Traveler – The Marauders_

(in which we find out that Riley was _not_ the first Traveler)

**Author:** Captain Oblivious

**Rating:** G (may be moved up later, but not by much)

**Disclaimer:** Feel free to sue me for borrowing Rowling's

Characters… you'll receive a pack of gum, a couple of posters, 

and a stuffed dog named Puddles within 6-8 weeks.

**A/N:** Welcome to the second in a series of stories called The Traveler! 

Just so you know before we start, Riley and Casey have no connection

whatsoever unless you count the fact that they both live on Earth. Yeah….

**Summary: **Casey is a normal Harry Potter fan with a life and plenty of dreams.  One of them is to read the sixth Harry Potter book to find out that Sirius didn't really die.  But when, through bizarre circumstances, she ends up not only back in time, but on a different continent and in a different world, she has to decide if changing the past is really worth changing the future.

June 22, 2003 

Tears fell swiftly onto the pages as she read.  Pale fingers grasped the book so tightly that they began to turn white, and large eyes set in a child-like face were focused intently on the awful words.  Her bottom lip had been pulled into her mouth, where it was being chewed methodically.  Her brow was creased with pain, rebellious strands of brown hair escaping from the half-ponytail and drifting down across her face. 

She had been reading for hours without moving and without making a sound.  Her back was stiff, her neck and shoulders throbbed, her eyes ached, and her butt was beyond numb.  But she couldn't stop reading yet; she couldn't.  Of all the injustices in the world, her favorite character had just been killed off!  She was determined to find some loophole, some way of getting Sirius back _out_ of that veil.  However, the closer she got to the end of the book, the less likely it seemed that there _would_ be a way out. 

She wished she could join Harry in trashing Dumbledore's office.  Her fingers were dancing along the edge of the book as they itched to pick something up and hurl it across the room.  That probably would have startled her sister, Jaime, and Jaime's friend, Laurel, not to mention severely alarming her mom, so she refrained from grabbing the candy dish off the coffee table next to her. 

Since Laurel was over to visit from Nevada for Jaime's birthday, Jaime had been gracious enough to buy _The Order of the Phoenix_, but not read it until she went back to visit Nevada with Laurel.  Her sister, therefore, had been granted first-reader's rights.  This was wonderful, except for the fact that she couldn't tell Jaime about anything that was happening in the book.  So, as she sat on the couch, knees curled up to her chest and tears trickling down her cheeks, she chewed her lip to keep from telling Jaime exactly who had died and exactly how and when and where and why and who by.  

Finally finishing the book without an inkling of hope in Sirius's favor, she slammed the book shut and glared pathetically at Jaime.  It took Jaime a good five minutes to notice, and when she did, her eyes grew wide and she asked, "Who died?  Don't tell me!  Was it good?  _Ooh_…."

As for Casey, she hugged the offending book tightly and sniffed quietly.  Mom glanced at her sympathetically, but didn't hide her amusement very well.  And right then, Casey felt as if she were the only one in the world who knew and cared that Sirius Black had died.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This is just the prologue, but I'd really like to know what you think so far!  Review, please!


	2. December 18, 2003

**The Little Prophet:** Thanks for being the first reviewer, and here's the 'more' you asked for!

**Autumn Darkness:** Three words for you (and me, actually). Too. Much. Caffeine. 

**Chaucer:** Ooo, thank you!

**Crying Sorceress: **I'm first! Yey! Lol. Hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the first.

**Arch of Wand:** HI! *waves spastically, notices no one else is waving, and runs around the room, waving all the characters' arms for them*

**Ryuu no Furui Yami:** Lol. It seems Casey's *cough*my*cough* reaction was very much like everyone else's! Say hi to 'Padfoot' for me!

**Niniane, Lady of the Lake:** I wrote more! Yey!

**Kay:** Funny, everyone's saying it sounded like them. Huh. Thanks for the review!

Here's the 'first' chapter! I'm basically setting things up for the rest of the story… I'm trying to get a bit of Casey's personality and interaction with her friends and family through before she leaves. Mwahaha!

Oh, by the way… did I mention that there are **major spoilers** from all five books in this story? Whoopsie daisy….

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

December 18, 2003 

Casey hummed the tune to "Deck the Halls" as she walked down the hall, a pile of clean clothes in her arms.  She was in a hurry to finish her chores.  She had just found an actually well-written story about Sirius being alive.  After six months, she still felt a strange sense of loss from his death.  It wasn't strange because Sirius was a fictional character, because Casey always became emotionally attached to characters.  Heck, she could make herself cry when the guy who was obsessed with raptors in Jurassic Park died!  What was strange was that she still often found herself mourning.  She must have been more attached than she thought.  Reading every story she could find about him from the time she read _Prisoner of Azkaban_ probably hadn't helped the shock of losing him.

As it was, she still needed to get her chores done quickly.

"Casey, I posted a new chapter!" Jaime called. 

"Okay, I'll read it later," Casey answered, dropping the clean clothes on her bed and turning around to leave her room.  Unfortunately, she ran into a wall first.  "Ow!" she shouted, stumbling back and rubbing her nose. 

"Watch for the walls; they bite!" Jaime snickered from the next room over, where she was rolling around in the office chair. 

"Ha ha-ha ha _ha_," Casey said sarcastically.  She scrunched her nose a few times before going off to finish her chores. 

*                      *                      *

"So what if… Dobby falls in love with Harry, but he realizes there's the whole different-species thing."  Casey laughed and speared another piece of orange chicken with her fork as she listened to Kari elaborate.  "So then he… falls into a portal where…"

"Dobby was in _Order of the Phoenix_, so he can't leave till after that," Casey pointed out. 

"Okay, so after that, he finds a portal and ends up in _Lord of the Rings_, where he meets Gollum and they fall in love," Kari finished, grinning triumphantly. 

Casey burst into peals of laughter, rocking back in her chair and covering her mouth with a gloved hand to muffle her wild giggles.  The people seated around them in the food court were already looking at them oddly. 

Finally calming down, Casey cleared her throat and dropped her fork on her plate.  "Ready?"

"S_ure_," Kari drawled, loading her dishes and utensils onto Casey's tray. 

After dumping their trash, the girls headed to the mall's bookstore, where Casey immediately skirted around the fiction, non-fiction, informational, and self-help aisles until she reached the children's section.  Kari rolled her eyes and followed her friend directly to the Harry Potter shelf.

"So, what was his name again?  The one that died."

A corner of Casey's mouth quirked into a smile as she fingered the binding of one of the books.  "Sirius Black," she said. 

Kari nodded.  "We meet him in the next movie, right?"

Casey grinned.  "_Prisoner of Azkaban_, yeah."  She was very well aware that Kari was just humoring her, because Kari didn't read the books, but encouraged Casey to talk about them.  Kari had been asking Casey the same questions for a year, and Casey always gave the same answers.  Nevertheless, Kari was the only person besides Lia who was truly sympathetic when Casey began ranting about Sirius's death. 

"Where do you want to go next?" Kari asked.

Casey shrugged and turned away from the Harry Potter books, only to run into an _American Girl_ display. 

*                      *                      *

December 20, 2003 Casey – 

_I saw it!  Heee!  *squashes Jai in a hug*  I cried SO hard at the end… what was he thinking, going off and leaving Sam like that? We should fix that…._

_G2g get ready for dance, but I'll talk to you later, okay?  HAPPY CHRISTMAS!_

- _Lisa_

Casey grinned and pulled up a window to reply to Lisa's email.

Lisa – 

*lassos Frodo with Aragorn's yarn and yanks him back to land*  Okay, fixed.  HA!  Didn't I tell you it was the best movie ever?  

_We're busy Sunday, skiing Monday, I'm working Tuesday, and we have company on Wednesday… so if you want, I'll talk to you on Christmas, okay?  HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!_

- _Casey_

"Casey, have you studied yet?" 

Casey groaned and rolled her eyes towards the office door.  "For what, may I ask?" 

Her mom stuck her head in the door and gave Casey a very serious look.  "The math test on Tuesday."

"Don't need to."

"Then you know how to add a three-by-three matrix to a two-by-three matrix."

"That's impossible," Casey said deftly. 

Casey's mom left the doorway in a huff, while Casey turned back to the computer, again rolling her eyes.  Her mother always tried to find excuses to get Casey off the computer, but Casey would have none of it.  Lisa was there and so were The Marauders.  The almighty computer was half her life, no question. 

Pulling up the FanFiction.Net window again, Casey scanned the page and grinned at Sirius's last joke (something about calling his first-year-apprentice Todd, when the little boy complained that his name was Leonardo, and Sirius sent him away, complaining about how hard it was to find good help).  The 'real' Sirius had been in all of two and a part books, so there wasn't much known about him, but the general consensus was that he was the handsome joker extremist of the group of friends called the Marauders.  In his fifth year, he tortured a boy because he was bored.  In sixth year, he almost killed said boy.  In seventh year… well, who knew what happened in seventh year… or in first, second, third, and fourth, for that matter.  Wait!  Second year was when he and James Potter and Peter Pettigrew confronted Remus Lupin about his lycanthropy, and then in fifth year, the same three boys had become illegal Animagi to keep Remus company.  

So, besides that, nothing was really known.  The fact that everyone had seen Sirius as an overall perfect guy was probably what made it so hard for everyone to swallow the loss.  Stories popped up everywhere, not to mention little poems and sayings that people randomly adopted and displayed everywhere.  One of Casey's favorites was plastered on the background of her computer screen ("The Brightest Star never fades. Give a sniffle for Snuffles, and he'll come back."). 

"Know what happened last night?"  Casey's mom said as she strolled into the room, sorting out a wad colorful ribbons. 

"What?"  Casey asked unconcernedly. 

"Your dad came in and said there was a package on the front step.  He said, 'There's a box on the step, but I didn't look!' So I ran out, grabbed the box, and threw it in my closet as fast as I could!"  Mom chuckled.

Casey laughed obligingly.  It wasn't that the story wasn't particularly _funny_, it was just that she was more concerned with what happened in the chapter of the story she was reading. 

Suddenly, the phone rang.  Casey picked up the receiver.  "Hullo?" 

"Hi!" came a familiar voice.

"Hi!" Casey answered.  Raine….

"Okay, so I checked my schedule, and I looked at showtimes, and I can go at 4:10.  Can you come?"

"Just a second.  Hey, Mama?  Can we go at 4:10?"

Mom shrugged.  "You'll miss German food…."

"Yeah, Rain', I can go.  We'll probably want to get there early.  Mama, how early?"

"Probably forty-five minutes."

"She said forty-five minutes.  So, that's… hang on, give me a second, I'm not in school.  Uh…"

"3:25."

"Thanks, Mama.  3:25.  Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No, I'm gonna come straight from the gym."

"Okay, see you at 3:25, and get ready to cry!"

Raine laughed.  "I've heard that.  Bye!"

"Bubye!"  Casey hung up the phone and grinned giddily at her mom.  "I get to see _Return of the King_ again!" 

Mom smiled excitedly.  "That's two in the first week!"

"I know!  The Gibsons were already jealous that I saw it on Wednesday… just wait till they find out I saw it _again_ before they did.  Ha!"

*                      *                      *

December 25, 2003 

**LuckyButt:** They got me a _car_, Lis', a _car_!!! *grabs Sirius by the shoulders and shakes him*

**BroadwayGoddess:** *sticks out her tongue* Nose hair!

**LuckyButt:** I know, New York sucks. 

**BroadwayGoddess:** No permit till I'm 16. Six-bloody-teen!

**LuckyButt:** Lol. 

Casey had discovered that typing with car keys clutched in your hands is very difficult.  Her parents, while they seemed as excited about the car as she did, had asked her to stay home for most of Christmas day and not drive so long that she would use up the entire tankful of gas in her new car.  To compromise, Casey and kept a vise-like grip on her key and had immediately gotten online to tell Lisa.   

Currently, she felt like screaming until she went hoarse.  She wanted every single person in the world to know that she, who had not expected to have a car for years, now had a very pretty little Civic parked in the street outside her house.  It had been driven for exactly thirty-six-point-seven-two-six minutes before she had been obliged to drive home and leave it outside.  She would have camped out in it if she could have….

**LuckyButt:** A car a car a car a car a car a car a car a car a

**BroadwayGoddess: **You can shut up now.

**LuckyButt:** Meh heh. *spins around like a top* This better.

**BroadwayGoddess:** Much, thanks. Guess what _my _parents got me. 

**LuckyButt:** What's that?

**BroadwayGoddess: **RENT MERCHANDISE AND TICKETS! 

**LuckyButt:** *shrieks* We're having THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!

**BroadwayGoddess:** Now all we need's a pageant with Herdmans!

**LuckyButt:** LOL!

"Casey, can you come set the table?"

"Yeah, just a sec!"

**LuckyButt:** Brb. Gotta set the table. AH! The desk is EATING MY NEW SHIRT!

**BroadwayGoddess: **Lol! *brandishes the fire-poker and attacks the desk*

**LuckyButt:** *Mr. Grumpy Desk lets go and Casey goes flying across the room and smacks into a wall*

**BroadwayGoddess:** Heeeee!

**LuckyButt:** Brb.

**BroadwayGoddess:** K.

In reality, Casey _had_ gotten her new shirt stuck on the desk, and managed to get it free about the same time as Lisa started smacking the imaginary desk with her fire-poker.  She didn't run into a wall, but she did go rolling across the room in the rollie-chair. 

"Casey, come set the table!"

"I'm _coming_!" Casey yelled back.  She reluctantly set her car keys on the desk and turned away….

Her first step went fine.  After all, she'd only been walking for almost sixteen years.  However, her second step didn't go so well.  Her new shoes had become unlaced at some point in time and the rollie-chair had planted itself on one of the shoelaces.  Casey tripped because of it and ran smack into the door frame. 

"OW!" she yelled, actually in pain this time.  She rubbed her nose and wriggled it around like a rabbit before opening her eyes. 

And when she opened her eyes, she almost wished she hadn't. 

Because she was standing on the dais in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and the teachers and none other than the Marauders, a few other kids, and a certain red-head were staring at her in shock.  

"Holy crap," Casey breathed, taking an involuntary step back. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If you don't review, I'll be forced to… not know you read the chapter. Hm….


	3. December 25, 1976

**bethany wood:** Thank you!

**Templa Otmena:** *claps* YEY! Hi! *waves* 

**Templa Otmena (2):** I _loved_ RotK!!! I saw it two times within the first 4 days! And yes, I do have the TTT extended edition. Great, isn't it?

**Crying Sorceress: ***snicker* You're good at guessing. *grins mischievously* 

**Autumn Darkness:** Evil monkey brain eater? What have you been downing?! Lol. You spelled caffeine wrong, but I think I've told you that before. And I wanted to know that SAME THING about that car!

**The Little Prophet:** Which movie? RotK? I didn't really give anything away. 

**Niniane, Lady of the Lake:** Lol! I never thought of it that way… my mum gets mad if I don't come right away to set the table. I know you personally, yes? 

**the counter:** Fifteen of the twenty-five stories on that page were romances. You reviewed the same thing for every one. It is unlikely you have anything new to say.

**Little Winky:** Why thank you!

**Kay:** Hi, Kay! Thanks for the review!

**Arch of Wand:** Guess who BroadwayGoddess is supposed to _be_. *gives Arch of Wand a pointed look* PtC, YEY! Brilliant people, they are. *nods wisely* Guess what… I'm watching Aristocats! *snicker* It's so cute and corny and old and those British geese are FUNNY! "We're twin sisters… you might say we're related!" HA! *gasp!* My favorite character is the little Snoopy/weiner dog!! "Where's my beddy-bye basket?!"

**Lily of the Shadow:** *looks surprised* Me too! Lol.

**Roma J. Lupin:** Rabid hamsters and fluffy bunnies! LOL! Here's that chapter. 

**galadrielhermione10067: **Aw, thank you! I'm planning on including a sort of third-person account of the James/Lily deal… and don't worry, I wouldn't dare give up 'Traveler' (my official nickname for Riley's story). Too many people would attempt cyber murder!!

**HathorCol:** Hi, Hathor! *waves excitedly* Thanks for the review, and constructive criticism. And don't worry… Peter's not going anywhere. He may seem a bit pathetic, but he'll be there and an all-together-good-friend all the same. Let me know after this chapter if you'd still like to beta!

**esteledhel: **You know, I'm getting _really_ good at spelling that penname of yours! *grins* I love it, btw! Your review made me laugh… your inner Filibuster Firework and the counting how long it took you to read the second chapter. Hee hee.

**Arion Naomi:** Here's more. I hope you enjoy it.

**Seductive Gypsy:** Another chapter here for ya! 

**SiriusSweetie:** Yey, you like my story! *does the happy dance* And are you kidding? I cried my heart out when _he_ died. He's my favorite!

**Cassandra Thacker (2):** Lol. I _really_ wanted to write a Marauders story, but never thought I had the wit to handle them. Then I discovered a little corner of my head where wit lives! I was so excited! Hope you like the rest… and don't worry about Riley (other story, but that's besides the point). She just needs to grow.

I'm terribly sorry if I skipped you, but I appreciate your review all the same!

I wanted to update on Christmas, but unfortunately, I was, well… opening presents and getting spoiled. Sorry about that. 

I also wanted to update on New Years, but I was eating sushi and watching 'Return of the King' for the third time and getting spoiled. Sorry about that too. *smirks* 

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

**December 25, 1976**

The only thing that Casey could think of for several seconds was, "Oh, God, what do I do?  I can't, I can't, I can't… God, what do I do?"  She was completely frozen, her hands stiff by her sides and her shoulders tensed. Her mouth had fallen open, and her breath was coming in swift, sharp gasps, if it came at all. 

It was all there….

A single large, wood table stood in the middle of a gigantic stone room, easily recognizable to Casey. It was the Great Hall from Harry Potter, and it was decorated for Christmas. At the table sat a small number of adults wearing flowing robes, and near ten children wearing, well, _normal clothes. They were all staring at her in shock, as she was them. _

_Dumbledore, oh… McGonagall, Harry… oh no. _ 

It was then she realized that she wasn't seeing Harry Potter. This was something completely different… because that boy was not surrounded by red-haired people and a bushy-haired girl. He was entirely surrounded by _boys. _

But it couldn't be. She recognized the faces easily, of course, but how was she supposed to believe this? Was she supposed to just accept that she had traveled back in time, across a country and ocean, and into a story? Was it supposed to seem natural that she was suddenly staring at James Potter (father to a fictional character, and fictional character himself), Remus Lupin (lycanthrope), Peter Pettigrew (who Harry Potter fans immediately learned to hate), and Sirius Black… oh, Sirius! 

As if her breathing was not irregular enough beforehand, her breath hitched in her chest. Did fan fiction writers know how very right they'd gotten it? She was staring at Sirius, with his black hair and deep blue eyes… and that ever-present smirk that you always got the feeling he'd had. Sirius, who had no idea of the hard life he was in for. Sirius… who would die. 

All she seemed capable of was emitting a small, choking sound, but that seemed enough to pull everyone out of their stunned silence. Dumbledore stood from his seat and held out a hand, eyes twinkling curiously. Casey got the strange feeling that he was offering safety. Hesitantly, keeping a wary eye on the others, she took as step towards him. That step turned into another, and that one into another, and that one into another, until she was standing before the wizard, taking shaky breaths and trembling. 

"Hello, Child," Dumbledore said quietly, smiling gently at her. 

Casey opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She tried again, but only a whisper of "Hello" came out. 

"And who might you be?" asked the headmaster, gazing at her reassuringly. 

Again, Casey opened and closed her mouth without much result. She did manage to get out another whisper, this time with her first name, but finally became so frightened that she bolted. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her and threw herself at the doors of the Great Hall, pushing them open and dashing out into the Entrance Hall.

Behind her, Dumbledore ordered, "Catch her swiftly, but do not use magic, it will frighten her."

Two black-haired boys who looked more like brothers than friends shared a look and grins of excitement. "Does that include flying, Albus, old chap?" one boy asked. 

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. "Oh, I suppose that catching her is the most important thing."

Both boys immediately reached under the table and slid out broomsticks that they had undoubtedly been saving for after the feast. Before you could say winkin', blinkin', and nod, the boys had zoomed off after the mysterious girl who had suddenly appeared at the front of the Great Hall moments before. 

Outside the Great Hall, Casey sprinted to the right down a stone passageway.  Almost immediately, the corridor spilled out into the tall, brightly-lit room with stairs lining the walls… and some stairs that were _moving_.  Instinct carried her away from the staircase that took her down.  She leapt upwards two stairs at a time, speeding up when she heard a faint, "Prongs, right!"  She nearly made it to the third floor landing before something whooshed past her and stopped in front of her. 

_It_ was a bespectacled boy hovering over the ground on something that looked like an old-fashioned _broomstick_.  The boy gave her a lop-sided grin and reached out, taking hold of Casey's wrist.  "Come on, it's back to Dumbledore you go."

Casey gasped and jerked away from the boy.  Unfortunately, the sudden movement threw her out of balance and she latched onto the boy's hand to keep from falling.  The boy's reflexes were excellent, but not enough to stop Casey from sliding backwards down the stairs, and thus dragging him through the air after her.  

When she hit the landing between the second and third floors, Casey stumbled and fell to the ground.  The boy's momentum threw him off his broom and he landed on top of her.  Casey squirmed our from underneath him while he was groaning in fake agony.  She made a dash for the steps, but the boy grabbed her by the ankle. 

"Oi!" he shouted.  "You're not getting away!"

Casey whimpered, but stomped on the boy's hand. 

The boy yelled.  Casey spun around, wanting to make sure that he wouldn't get her again.  He did, indeed, make another quick grab for her, but with a swift punch in the nose, Casey had loosened herself from her captor and was scrambling up the steps again. 

Behind her, she heard a loud groan and a pitiful, nasally call for "Padfoot!"

Her heart beat ever more fiercely in her chest at that.  It couldn't be; that wasn't possible, and she knew it, no matter how much she'd tried to have faith in the impossible.  In the end, she was very much aware that, much as it pained her, it was just a story.  None of it was real. 

She had reached the fourth floor before she heard a loud guffaw from where she had left the boy.  "She's a _girl_, Prongs!" the voice laughed. 

Casey dove into the fourth floor corridor and took an immediate left.  Without looking, she knew the voice was headed in her direction.  She ducked around a corner and pressed herself against the wall next to a large, gold-rimmed mirror, and peeked out, trying to quiet her breathing, which seemed to thunder in her ears. 

A moment later, another boy on a flying broomstick zoomed onto the fourth floor and paused at the same fork where Casey had turned left.  Casey hid behind the corner again.

This had to be a dream, because all circumstances were far too fortuitous for her.  The second boy turned right and sped down the corridor. 

Casey suddenly realized that she had to get out, and she was doing exactly what stupid people in movies did when trying to escape from evil people: she was going up!  Of course, the good guys usually ended up either tossing the bad guys off the roof (she wasn't planning on murdering anyone) or falling off the roof themselves (she didn't want to die!).  Thus, she easily deduced that it was time to head down.  The question was how.  That was solved easily as well.  She would just go the way she'd come. 

Casey ran as quickly as her legs would carry her out from behind the corner, up one corridor, down another, and down the stairs she had just come up.  She passed the first boy, who was still sprawled on the landing where she'd left him, on the way.  He lunged for her again, and managed to snag the bottom of one of her pant legs.  Casey went tumbling face-first down the stairs with a shriek. 

The boy winced and called, "Terribly sorry!" as he watched her roll down the stairs, hitting each step and a loud thud.  It had obviously happened to him at some time in the past, because he was not particularly concerned about whether she'd be all right or not.  Either that, or he was already holding a grudge against her for damaging his nose.

Casey hit the landing of the second floor and cried out, briefly curling into a ball.  But she was on her feet again in an instant. 

Just as she ran into the corridor outside the stair-room, the boy called, "Entrance Hall, Padfoot!" 

Casey sped up.  Entrance Hall?  Then just down these stairs… Casey burst out the doors into a freezing cold, intensely white world.  Without pausing in the slightest, she ran as fast as she could through the knee-deep snow towards a distant forest.  Her bare feet were aching with cold, and the wind easily tore through her wool sweater.  Shivering violently, she slowed from her snail's pace to a stop.  She could hear someone calling for her, asking her to stop for a moment so that they could talk to her; they wouldn't harm her.  And, in truth, Casey didn't know why she was still running.  She had long since run past her limit – mostly because she didn't run at all – and her legs her threatening to give out.  That voice had been awfully tempting….

Within seconds, The Voice had reached her and revealed itself to be the second boy.  The wind whipped his black hair back and forth, and his face was already pink with cold, but he was grinning widely.   "Decide to beat the record for longest period of time spent barefoot in the snow?" he asked, glancing down at her feet.  Casey just squinted at him with her arms wrapped around herself and shaking.  The boy blinked at her, waiting only a few seconds for an answer that obviously was not going to come.  He finally stuck out a hand.  "Sirius Black." 

Casey eyed the hand warily before slipping one of her own into it.  His hand was large and warm and squeezed hers reassuringly.  "Casey McCarthy," she supplied quietly. 

Sirius grinned again, pulling her towards him gently.  "Well, Casey McCarthy, you must be freezing, judging by your hand.  What say we get you inside?"  He placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her towards the broom. 

Her stomach tightened into a knot.  Dare she do it?  This was a new experience, and they didn't know her… what would it matter if she spoke up now?  For the first time in her life, Casey spoke presumptuously to a stranger.  "Ladies' man, are you?"  She quirked an eyebrow at him to seal her look of confidence, though her insides were squirming with nervousness. 

Sirius gave her a self-satisfied smirk.  "More or less."

Casey slipped away from his hands and gave him the best flirtatious look she could come up with.  "Well then I have something to tell you."

Sirius raised his eyebrows, deep blue eyes twinkling and a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.  "Oh? And pray tell, what's that, my dear?"

_I'm not gonna let myself fall for you, that's what._  Casey's eyes hardened in sincerity.  "You'll never have _me_," she declared saucily.  The only sign of her squeamishness was her balled fists.  

Unfortunately, Sirius seemed more pleased at her response than anything.  "All right," he said.  "But you still have to come inside."  He took Casey by the hand again and pulled her onto the broom.  

As his arms wrapped around her and the broom rose into the air, Casey squashed the excited leap in her heart.  _I just met Sirius Black._  And she had a feeling that she knew _exactly_ what he was like. 

How's that?  Good?  Yes, no, maybe so….  Let me know in any case.  Review please!  I've been snowed into my house for two days… you _have_ to give me something, peoples! 


	4. December 25, 1976 continued

**Autumn Darkness:** Erm… how about we skip the snowball and you can just sit in the dark corner?

**DistinctVagueness:** Hi! *waves cheerfully* I'm glad you like it so far!

**Niniane, Lady of the Lake: **Hee hee… I know who you are! Hm… never thought of Viggo. I always pictured Johnny Depp as Sirius and someone similar to Ewan McGregor as Remus… the guy they have playing Lupin (Thewlis) looks _exactly_ like this guy in my math class. I'm kind of creeped out….

**Arch of Wand:** Hee hee… your reverse psychology shall not work on me and I'll never update and… oh crap.

**blahblah(2): **Lol. Lots o' caps there! Glad you love it so much (and thanks for adding me to your favorites list!) I'm sorry I took so long to update… life sucks sometimes. Oh, and I had to wait to get _any_ Lord of the Rings DVDs until the extended editions were available. AND I agree about RotK!!! I just saw it for the 5th time… yesterday. *grins*

**evilive: **Lol… poor, innocent Australian who has never seen snow. What a sad world you live in. Wait… you live in Australia! THAT'S COOL! Lol. Welcome, welcome to the land of Traveling!

**Crying Sorceress: **Lol. Everyone seems to think that Casey's in love! And I don't plan on just pairing everybody off… there'll be another OC later on who becomes _friends_ with Remus for purposes known as "another story"… but I despise the stories that just pair everybody off. If anything, maybe Peter'll get a girlfriend (ha!)!

**Snow White:** Glad you moved on from "iffy." And it turned out to be three days, actually… lots o' snow.

**mioni-bear: **Aw, it's adorable, yey! I haven't updated "Traveler" yet… so feel free to get on with that fan art if you haven't already! You have time!

**Lily of the Shadow:** Lol. It was interesting to write, too! You should have seen me acting it out to figure out how everything would work….

**Empress Guinevere Sparrow:** Yikes… the offspring of Gollum and Dobby! Oh, that reminds me… my friend commissioned me to write a story about Dobby being gay and taking a trip to… oh, wait… I shouldn't tell you. Meh heh J

**HathorCol:** Yey, you like it, and will beta! *claps* I'm so happy. *wipes a tear away* Oh, and Riley's gonna take a bit longer… I'm giving a couple more people time for fan art… and I have had _way_ too much stress in my life lately… 

**A/N:** Tahdah! I'm back! If you want a complete explanation, see my journal (at xanga.com under Invincible_Spork, or there's a link from my bio to my webpage which has a link to my journal!)… otherwise, just know that life has been suckie and that you should never give your child four exams, two papers, a presentation, university applications, and scholarship applications within two weeks. It's _bad_. 

Other than all that… welcome back to "The Traveler – The Marauders," say hello to my beta, **Hathor **(especially since she helps me with my 'English' and catches stupid mistakes that I make late at night), and enjoy this next chapter!

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**… December 25, 1976 continued… **

Sirius pulled up on the nose of the broom, slowing it to a stop in the Entrance Hall.  Casey let out a breath that she was very well aware she'd been holding and carefully peeled her hands off the broom handle.  She'd been dreaming of flying her entire life, and when it actually came down to it (and putting it in the words of a very famous android), she was moving at unsafe velocities and it scared the crap out of her. 

"Hospital Wing, then," Sirius said from behind her. 

"Huh?" Casey managed to get out.  Just before the Entrance Hall disappeared from view, she saw giant, sparkling purple words suspended in front of the doors of the Great Hall.  They simply said, "Hospital Wing."  So, Sirius wasn't psychic after all. 

Casey squeezed her eyes shut and attempted to ignore the wind rushing past her face unconsciously shrinking back against Sirius.  She didn't see him glance at her and grin.  Her hands glued themselves to the broomstick in front of her once again and she pinched her lips together to keep from shrieking at each turn.  It seemed to her that Sirius was cutting it awfully close.  By the time they reached the Hospital Wing, Casey was queasy and her world had gone off-kilter. 

Sirius seemed to pop off the broom, while Casey slid sideways until her foot hit the floor.  Getting her other leg off the broom was another matter.  She was still leaning sideways and standing on one foot, so her balance was a bit off and she suddenly found herself lying on the floor after a painful fall. 

She would've expected anyone to chuckle, but it grated on her already raw nerves that Sirius laughed outright.  The hand that he offered to help her up seemed to be forced by a lifetime of enforced chivalry, and she thought it particularly annoying that he continued to laugh as he ushered her in through the doors of the Hospital Wing. 

Inside, they found most all that had been present at the feat standing around a bed where James Potter seemed to be giving a narrative about the giant of a girl who attacked him on the stairs.  A tall, very thin woman was watching him closely, lips pressed together tightly, and next to her was a redheaded girl with a disturbingly identical look on her face.  Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she was frowning angrily. 

Finally, the girl could seem to stand it no longer, and she snapped, "Oh, for Merlin's sake, Potter, we all saw her and she was no more dangerous than Remus!"

Potter shot an oddly amused glance at the sandy-haired boy who was standing beside his bed, then turned back to the girl, running a hand nervously through his hair.  "'Course, Evans, you all _saw_ her, but you didn't see her fighting, did you? She was like a bloody Graphorn with those arms swinging everywhere!"

Casey jumped as Sirius laughed loudly from behind her; she'd forgotten he was there. "James, you knocked her down the stairs at least twice; look at these bruises you git."  Sirius gripped her chin and turned her head to show off the purplish areas that had developed since her fall down the stairs, and Casey scowled.  Those words had been said to James, of course… but why did Casey feel as if she'd just been insulted?  She trusted the look she shot at him to communicate such feelings. 

When she looked back towards the bed, _everyone_ was staring at her.  Needless to say, this made her uncomfortable, and she sought refuge in Dumbledore, whose twinkling blue eyes assured her of a warm safety. 

"Come here, then," the headmaster said, holding out a hand. 

Glancing warily at the others, Casey skirted carefully around them and slipped one of her hands into Dumbledore's.  He encased it in his larger one, and then looked at it almost as if startled.  "My, your hands are freezing, my dear!  Poppy, let's get her something to warm her fingers."

"Firewhiskey!" Sirius and James whooped together. 

Casey joined the severe woman she'd seen earlier (who she assumed was Professor McGonagall) in glaring at the boys and their stupidity.  Without meaning to, she told them outright, "Shut _up_, you idiots."  But the boys only looked further amused, and Dumbledore chuckled. 

The redhead appreciated her efforts, at least.  "If I were you, Potter, I'd feel stupid making fun of someone with your nose being that size and all," she said sharply.

Potter's face colored and his hands immediately flew to his swollen, purple nose.   Casey had to wonder if he was very sensitive, because she was a wimp and didn't hit hard. 

"Now, Lily Lady, it's not nice to talk about poor Snape that way," Sirius spoke up cheerfully, patting James on the back and leaning leisurely against the head bars of the bed. 

Lily's pale cheeks flushed.  "This has nothing to do with _Severus_," she looked pointedly at Potter, who she must've known would become defensive at this, "and _don't_ call me 'Lily Lady,' Black."

Sirius smirked. "And why not, Lilykins?"

Lily visibly stiffened, and Casey glanced between the two, measuring the differences.  Lily was standing straight and proud.  Her clothes were pressed, and her entire physique seemed tall and confident.  Black, on the other hand, was relaxed and good-humored, with the image of a successful slacker.  He radiated confidence like Lily, though. 

Seeing a famous bout of the Evans Temper coming on, Casey finally gave way to a nervous shiver.  It effectively distracted the room's occupants from their differences, and once again, Casey found herself the center of attention.  Casey averted her eyes from everyone else's; she hadn't meant to receive _all_ of the attention. 

The uncomfortable pause was broken as Madame Pompfrey exited her office and walked briskly to Casey, handed her a goblet, and told her to drink up.  Casey looked at the steaming contents doubtfully.  "W-what is it?" she asked quietly. 

"Drink _up_," Madame Pompfrey reiterated, and Casey immediately put the goblet to her lips and took a large gulp. "It's just a bit of pepper-up potion.  Good for the flu and the common – "  But Casey had already spit the potion back into the goblet and was coughing violently. 

"Why did you give me _this_?" she asked, horrified.

Madame Pompfrey snatched the goblet.  "As I was saying, it cures the common cold, and I'll wager that's what you've got," she snapped. 

Casey wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.  "If it cures the common cold, why didn't you give it to Filch when… w-when…" Casey suddenly realized that she honestly had no idea whether Filch was there or not. 

"What about Mr. Filch, my dear?" Dumbledore prompted calmly, the corners of his mouth twitching. 

Casey blinked.  "W-when he had a cold… a while ago."

Madame Pompfrey looked put out.  "Well, if he'd had a cold, he should have told someone instead of holing up in that drafty office of his.  Merlin knows what else he'll catch in there."  And with that, the nurse swept back her office. 

Dumbledore chuckled softly as he turned back to Casey, whose nose had wrinkled.  "What is it now, child?"

Casey wrinkled her nose even further and rubbed it self-consciously.  "The potion didn't taste very good…."

Sirius and James both snorted, and a higher-pitched laugh followed their example, almost nervously.  Casey leaned a bit to the side and spotted a small, chubby boy with blonde hair.  He was stealing glances at Sirius and James, as if waiting to see what else they did. 

Casey pinched her lips shut again to keep from vomiting.  She had never felt true hate for anyone in her life, but that boy… that _thing_ was the only Marauder to ever go bad, and seeing him in person, so close that she could strangle him and no one could stop her, that made her hate him more than she had ever thought possible.  It was, perhaps, something fortunate that she had thought long and hard about a way to save everyone in the end… and the thing was, she knew that it had to happen.  With every fiber of her being, she believed that James and Lily Potter dying was for the best, no matter who it hurt and no matter the grief it caused. 

"Perhaps, Miss…" Dumbledore trailed off expectantly. 

"McCarthy," Sirius supplied, still leaning casually against the back of his friend's sickbed. 

"Miss McCarthy," Dumbledore said, smiling, "you would accompany me to my office.  It seems that you have a story to tell, and I am one person you'll meet that does love a good story."

Casey smiled weakly and Dumbledore led her out the door.  Just before turning the corner, the small voice that belonged to the Traitor called out, "And don't forget the lemon drops, Headmaster!  She'll like the lemon drops!"  Casey found herself wishing that the little twerp didn't seem so nice… it would be much easier for her to go on hating him if he just kept his mouth shut.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

That's not as long as I'd hoped, but I want to get this chapter out as soon as possible. Next chapter, we get discussion time! Oh, how I love writing those… *snorts*

I'm stretching out the deadline for the Traveler fan art contest, in case any of you are interested. The prize is a scene from "The Traveler – The Lord of the Rings" that no one but me and Risa has seen yet.  

Review, please!


	5. December 29, 1976

A/N: Erm… I wrote most of these review answers _before_ I updated Traveler, so yes… Niniane, Lady of the Lake: Lol. I think I'd probably march over to Peter and smack him around a bit. Don't think I'd get away with it, though…. 

**Arch of Wand:** I got out of explaining AGAIN, HA! Lol :D I win!

**CS: **Oh, I'll get dear ickle Remmikins fluffy all right. Just maybe not in this fic… *cackles*

**bethany wood:** I'm glad I've caught your interest! I don't particularly like girl-falls-into-story stories either. Pity that's what I like to write. I have a couple of songfics as well, if you'd like to check them out.

**Openly Insane:** I love your name!

**"blahblah":** Lol. All your MWAHAs remind me of a Mwaha fight that I had with someone a long time ago….

**Autumn Darkness:** They're not thtupid, you're thtupid. Lol.

**esteledhel:** Aw, thank you! I always stress over characters…. Another Traveler chapter's coming, but I swear it's trying to kill me!

**DistinctVagueness:** *claps* More people like my characters!

**Empress Guinevere Sparrow:** Is this the very top secret laboratory that no one will ever find but everyone already knows is there? (Kuzco: She's got this "secret lab"…) Oh, and I'm sorry to say (not really, but that's not the point) that there is no discussion. I'm Slytherin, so I'm very good at getting out of things.

**Naomi Maxwell:** Lol. Welcome, enjoy! And about Sirius… yes, but it takes forever, and it's very complicated.

**"FireLizard":** LOL. I loved your fading effect! "Slowly...fadeing...ah...can't spel...no!" Hope you keeping liking the story….

**"Moonlight on the Water":** I'm glad you like it! What friend is this that recommended it? I'd like to thank them!

**Muse-Calliope:** Lol. Don't you wish he actually existed? *sighs and pounces on her Sirius doll*

**Lily of the Shadow:** Know what? I fall off stuff (AKA bikes, fences, etc.) like that all the time… this is why I know what happens. *wink*

**galadrielhermione10067:** Ack… Traveler… yes… erm… it's coming?  No, really, it is! I just finished school, so I am able to find large amounts of time for the computer now. Yey! *claps*

**Snowfire the Kitsune:** Hi! *waves* Welcome to my world, and… well, keep reading! Lol. :D 

Thanks to Beta!Hathor !!

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December 29, 1976 

_Dear Journal,_

_            Geez.  I haven't written in a journal since I was ten.  Good thing I'm starting now; missing Lisa's maiming fall down the stairs is nothing compared to this._

_            You'll never guess what happened.  Scratch that.  You don't know who I am or where I was or when I was to begin with, so I'm sure you won't find it terribly extraordinary that I am now in the time of the Marauders. _

_            I've been here for four days now.  On my first day I managed to act cool in front of Sirius Black, fall down stairs, make other people fall down stairs, explain my situation to Dumbledore, get invited to stay at Hogwarts, and punch James Potter in the nose (that's healing nicely now… it's barely purple at all).  I'd have the say that the hardest of those was being cool with Sirius.  I've never been the greatest at talking to guys, let alone immensely handsome ones.  You'd think that telling Dumbledore everything would be harder, but no!  Even though I had to talk at the rate of a snail so I didn't drop anything about James or Lily or Sirius or Peter or Harry or Snape or… anyone else… _

_            Anyways.  Dumbledore fixed it so that even though I'm a Muggle (crap… no special Mary Sue Powers), I get to stay at Hogwarts and study theory and history and potions and stuff like that.  This is SO COOL!  I'm going to HOGWARTS!  OH MY GOSH!  hyperventilates_

_            Everyone's been really anxious to hang out with me.  The Marauders ask me so many questions though, that it's not really fun to be around them.  Lily Evans coughPottercough is really nice and very polite about respecting my privacy.  Good thing that she _likes_ having Muggle roots… she has plenty of pens around.  Quills don't agree with me.  I had ink stains on my hands before I even picked up the quill.  Lily lent me all the pens she had.  She said her mother can owl her more. I know she's really curious about me (as they all are).  I'm now one of three Gryffindor (that Sorting Hat is possessed, by the way, in my opinion) girls in sixth year (Dumbledore seemed to know it'd be embarrassing to go to school with eleven-year-olds, so there we are). _

_            It sounds funny to say that… sixth year.  No more eleventh grade.  Honestly, I like the sound of "sixth year" better.  I can't wait till school starts up again… or for the first time, I guess.  Dear old Dumbledore (all those Marauders hanging about it rubbing off on me; that's what they call him – that or Albus… sort of impertinent, but that's the Marauders for you) said that, if I like, he will arrange for me to sit in on classes that require a wand (Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts).  I won't be able to do any of the foolish wand-waving or silly incantations, but he suggested that I at least learn the theory of that section of magic.  If nothing else, I'll know how to do all sorts of magic; I just won't be _able_ to.  Dumbledore's really accommodating about this.  I've spent hours in his office every day, talking over what's to be done and how I'm liking Hogwarts and such.  Odd that he didn't just stick me in some Muggle orphanage…._

_            If I stay here for fifteen years or so, maybe I'll get to meet Ha_(scribble)__

_            I don't think I'll talk about that anymore.  Sirius has this nasty habit of following me around and getting in on whatever I'm doing.  It's sweet, but he's _everywhere_!  I won't be here that long anyways._

_            Ugh! Sirius, if you're reading this page, then QUIT IT!  Geez!  For being so cute, he sure is a butthead.  I told you not to read this anymore, you idiot!  snorts No, if the Common Room were empty, my tune would be just the same.  In fact, it'd be louder and not on paper.  Sirius, I'm not gonna explain the word "butthead" to you because all people are meant to know about that word is the general meaning and I have a feeling that you've got that.  Shut up!_

_            All righty, so I'm getting back to my journal only _three hours_ after that last bit.  Sirius decided that I just _had_ to go on a walk with him and the Marauders.  And then he forgot me.  Stupid boys… at least Remus remembered I was there and acted like it.  Sirius invited me and then ignored me.  I'm beginning to understand why Snape doesn't like them.  Sirius and James are almost unbearably arrogant.  Like cats with a sense of humor.  Remus is a suspicious character…obviously.  Peter… I think that Snape finds him weak.  I'd prefer to ignore him, but I've already had too much entertainment out of him.  I hate that he's funny.  It's like your parents making you eat broccoli because they say it's good for you, but you end up _liking_ the broccoli.  That defeats the purpose and makes your parents think they know everything.  This may be how scientists gain power.  Must investigate. _

_            The Marauders are now back and are acting out a "conversation" that they had with Snape on the way back from their walk.  (Luckily, I got bored and left.  Remus may have noticed.)  I believe it was Shakespeare via Collin Mochrie who said, "All the world is a stage and you are _CRAP!_"  It's not their acting skills.  I'd vote for them if I were part of the Academy, but their material needs work.  I wonder if Hogwarts has something normal like drama class.  James should sign up.  He's very melodramatic where Lily is involved.  Yesterday he spent two hours draped backwards over the arm of the couch, bemoaning his misfortunes when Lily wouldn't sit next to him at lunch.  _

_            It feels weird to wear robes.  They're like unflattering dresses.  This start of the school term after Christmas may be entertaining.  I'm wearing a set around today to get used to them.  Maybe I'll fit in better that way.  I hear news travels fast around here.  Lily wrote to the other Gryffindor sixth year girl, Alice (future Mrs. Longbottom?), and mentioned me.  Lily suspects that between Alice and Severus Snape (who will tell all the Slytherins he is in contact with, of course), the entire school will know about me before they get back from holiday.  Lovely._

_            Sirius has decided that he is bored and insists that everyone must accompany him to dinner, even though it is forty-five minutes away.  Must make a mental note to observe this boy and see what makes him tick…._

_            Maybe it's the Force. _

_            Wrong movie. _

_            Remus looks sicker every day.  I pretend not to notice. _

_- Casey _

__

Heh heh… I was about to say "update soon!" but that would be wrong. How about… REVIEW!


	6. December 30, 1976

**Arch of Wand who is too lazy to sign in:** (1)*looks surprised* I like Whose Line TOO! *disbelieving face number… which one were we on?!*  (2) Remus is a sweetie. *grins and pats him on the head* (3) I get my very own reverse psychology crap, yey!

**CS:** Lol. *grins* I _would_ use your character… 'cept I have one of my own already! She'll make a debut later, but her part in this story isn't all that large. I'm planning writing _her_ story after this. 

**Niniane, Lady of the Lake:** LOL. Road-kill… I've heard that somewhere before… and I think I'll use it in this chapter… *raises an eyebrow*

**Snowfire the Kitsune:** *gets plowed over by the mischief* Meh heh. I myself am debating whether she'll spill or whether I'll save that for a terribly cliché chapter that I've planned. Hm… *rubs her chin*

**Empress Guinevere Sparrow:** *sends you some cake and chocolate for not sending evil Dobby and Gollum offspring after her* Ah, smelly cheese does wonders….

**galadrielhermione10067:** You know… I'm glad I made her a Muggle too! I thought that'd be a bit more original. 

**DistinctVagueness:** Thank you! I was quite iffy about the journal entry, but it seemed like a good way to pass through large gaps of time. There will be more journal entries every now and then.

**Autumn Darkness:** :P You're weird.

**"Moonlight on the Water":** Barbados, cool! Thanks for the review!

**The Rori:** Thank you!

**Dakilang_MotMot:** Thank you! I hope this is soon enough for you!

**"blahblah":** Lol. That's what I always think at the end of a chapter. "That's it? Sheesh!"

**Haldirs-Wife:** As I said to _galadrielhermione10067_, I thought making her a Muggle would be a bit more original.

**Muse-Calliope:** Lol. Supermarket Sirius. *snorts* I am considering making myself a huggable Sirius doll to take to university next year. Wonder what kind of rep that'll get me…. Oh, and by the way… that link to the picture didn't work… drat!

**The Elven Wolf:** Takeout! *runs off to find the Chinese in her fridge… food, not person… yeah…* Lol. I still haven't figured out that monkey thing.

Thanks to **Hathor**The Beta! 

December 30, 1976 

It was Day Five, and three days away from the day that the students would return for term.  The castle was quiet.  Time was spent wandering to the library or roaming the common rooms.

Casey, for one, was glad that everything was so dead.  Being homeschooled was a disadvantage when it came to a social life, and she was tired of being on her toes day in and day out.  She would have gladly sunk into the background and devoted her time to observing.  Sirius, however… ugh!  He was so freaking _incessant_ about everything.  After only five days, Casey tended to agree with Lily: they _were_ insufferable prats!  Not that they (they being Sirius and James) weren't incredibly charming as well, but Casey hadn't people-watched all her life for nothing. 

At the moment, she was curled up in a blanket in a window seat, wishing for something to read, but above all, lost in her thoughts.  As it was still holiday, everyone was still sleeping, but Casey had woken up early and hadn't been able to go back to sleep, so she had quietly pulled the comforter off her bed and had shuffled downstairs.  She briefly considered going through one of the piles of junk that the Marauders had left lying around, but quickly decided that this was unwise, as it _was_ something the _Marauders_ had left.  For all she knew, it could be a trap to catch Snape trespassing on their turf (they considered all of Hogwarts theirs, but still).

She hadn't seen Snape very much, and when she did, it was fairly uneventful.  Sirius, who had taken to sitting determinably at her side whenever possible, did nothing more than whisper subtly degrading comments about the Slytherin in her ear.  As the professors were unusually near, Sirius and James could not do what they really wanted to, and Snape was unable to retaliate properly.  Casey found it considerably annoying that she was being used to get at Snape, and tried to sit elsewhere, but the Marauders, she found, were cleverer than that.  Five minutes after she sat down, Sirius was back at her side, puffing out his chest and declaring his greatness.  At that point, Casey had stolen Peter's fork out of his hand and poked Sirius in the ribs.  "Stop doing that," she had said.  "You look like a blowfish."  Sirius claimed that he wasn't speaking to her.  She wished it were true. 

Only five days in, and she was already homesick.  Lily was wonderful, of course (who would have expected any less?); a bit of a stickler for the rules, but wonderful all the same… but Casey wanted Kari and Lisa, who would bring out her quirkiness and give back with some of their own.  Dumbledore was patient and wise, and an awesome adult, but he couldn't always be there to listen to her.  Voldemort was out there, and nobody knew what she did; they would fight on, not knowing that all it took to free them was the child of James Potter and Lily Evans.

Casey leaned her forehead against the cold window and watched her breath cause a round spot of fog.  Idly, she drew whirly patterns on the glass, watching them meld together as the glass cleared.  Again, she breathed heavily onto the window.  This time, she spelled out "MWPP Time."  Over and over she drew things in the window.  "Sirius," "Potter," "Lily," and "Moony" (along with a little clear circle to go along with it and represent the moon). 

"I didn't think you were the type to get up early," a voice teased from behind her.

Casey spun around.  Lily was smiling at her.  For a moment, Casey panicked.  Could Lily see the "Moony" behind her on the glass?  Could she see the moon?  Lily wasn't stupid; she'd probably figured it out years ago….  "I'm not," Casey finally choked out, smiling nervously.  She turned back to look out the window, and was relieved to find her drawings had vanished.  "I just woke up."

Lily smiled in understanding.  "Well," she said, glancing down at Casey's apparel, "you have about forty-five seconds to get back in our dormitory before the boys come out.  They would generally sleep in during the holidays, but Remus said Sirius has been dragging them out of bed every morning to see you."

Casey sighed heavily and slid off the window seat.  Sirius's attention was flattering and all, but couldn't he just leave her alone for one morning?

Just as she entered the girls' dorm and shut the door, something slammed open the boys' dorm door and thundered down the stairs.  A second later, a loud voice called, "Good morning, Evans!  Lovely day for a romantic walk, isn't it?"  Casey could practically _hear_ Lily rolling her eyes. 

Casey quickly pulled on a set of robes and headed back downstairs.  She was surprised when, instead of marching about as they usually did, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were sitting soberly in various places around the room, while James was standing by the window, looking very seriously at Lily, who looked typically angry.  "I didn't write that, Potter," she was saying venomously. 

"Then who did?" James asked solemnly. 

_Draw what_? Casey wondered. 

Lily glanced at Casey and Casey glanced at the window.  _Oh_.

Everyone else had seen the glances too, and turned to Casey.  She looked from person to person, unsure of what to do.  When she saw Remus… oh, poor Remus!  He looked a hundred times sicker than he had the day before, and to top that he was _scared_.

Casey quickly snapped her mouth shut.  _Think fast_, _think fast_,_ think fast_!  It was the most important unwritten rule of all: don't reveal the future.  _Um_…. "Draw what?" she finally asked, calling on her large eyes to portray innocence. 

"'Moony' on the window," Sirius supplied, studying her with no small amount of wariness. 

"O-oh," Casey stuttered.  "Well… that's what you call Remus, isn't it?"

"Why'd you draw it with a moon?" James asked testily.

_Who told you it was a moon_? Casey wanted to quip, but just shrugged and said, "I dunno.  I figured he just liked the moon or something."  The others stared at her blankly.  Casey rolled her eyes. "_Moon_y?"  She shrugged again.  "What's the big deal?"  She paused, and then grinned at Sirius playfully.  "You didn't think I'd draw Remus's butt on the window, did you?"  Sirius let out a bark of laughter, and even Remus chuckled with relief.

"Come on, let's go to breakfast," Sirius said, slinging an arm around Casey's shoulders.  

For once, Casey didn't shake it off.  She allowed the comfort he was most likely unknowingly offering to sink in as she shoved her shaking hands into her pockets.  _Crisis averted_.

*                      *                      *

Casey shifted nervously in her seat.  She knew that she shouldn't be scared to ask.  After all, it was only Lily.  But that was just it: it was _Lily_.  Lily was important; Casey was just any other girl.  There was nothing special about her… except that she'd managed to time-travel.

"Lily?" she said shakily.  Lily looked up and smiled encouragingly at her.  Casey swallowed.  "Um… I'd like to get some books from the library.  You know… to catch up a bit… where is the library?"

"Would you like me to take you?" Lily asked.

Casey glanced sideways at Sirius, who was leaning into the middle of the table, consorting with the other Marauders.  "I think," she said slowly, "that if both of us leave at the same time, they're bound to notice."

Lily grinned.  "I'd have to agree.  All right."  With a few swishes of her wand, she'd produced parchment and a quill.  Minutes later, Casey was able to slip out of the Great Hall without Sirius noticing. 

Lily had made a list of some books that she recommended for catching up.  A History of Magic was at the top of the list, and there was a small note beside it.  It said, "Thought you might want to know a bit about the Wizarding World."  Casey smiled and looked at the directions to the library.  _Could they have put it any farther away_? she wondered, tucking the parchment into her pocket.

Hogwarts was an awfully gloomy, spooky place when you were alone.  The only light came from glowing torches, which caused more than one shadow to be black and menacing.  Casey began rolling her feet so that they didn't make any sound.  Why did she let things like that get to her?  Every frightening movie she'd ever seen began to flash through her mind.  What Lies Beneath, Signs, The Rings, The Exorcist….

"Geez," she muttered.  "It's not like something's going to attack me."

"That really depends on what you would call 'attacking.'"

Casey nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around.  "Snape!" she gasped.  _Stupid idiot can't even look decent like Alan Rickman_.  She frowned.  "Wh… hi."

Snape raised one shiny black eyebrow.  His skin glittered in the torchlight.  "Hello."

Casey pursed her lips.  "I'm Casey."

He gave her a contemptuous once-over.  "Indeed."

Casey frowned at him again, fiddling with her side of her robes.  "Can I help you?" she finally asked.  

"Oh, I think that you can," Snape said, one lip curling.  "You have interesting tastes when it comes to choosing your friends."

Casey snorted.  "I think my _friends_ chose me."

"Indeed."

"You say that a lot," Casey pointed out, plucking up enough courage to talk back a bit.

"You should watch your tongue unless you are prepared to demonstrate your worth," Snape snapped.

Casey blinked.  _Whoa_,_ chill_,_ dude_.  "Sorry…"

Snape gave her the once-over again.  "Tell me, what is your parentage?"

_Oh_,_ crap_. _ Think of a way out_,_ think of a way out_,_ think of a way out_!  _Up until now_,_ I've been sorted into Slytherin_;_ I'm cunning_…_ think of a way out_!  "I'm not a 'mudblood' if that's what you mean," she said shortly. 

Snape's eyes glittered triumphantly.  "You are pureblood then?"

_Pure Muggle_,_ apparently_, _yeah_.  "Yes."

Casey had never known anyone who looked evil when they were happy, but Snape's lips curled into a sadistic smile.  "Welcome, then.  I'll admit, it seems strange that you would arrive so late in the year…."

"I was homeschooled until now," Casey offered, hoping that this explanation was acceptable.

Something flickered on Snape's face.  "And you came to finish your schooling."

Casey nodded, still fiddling with the side of her robes.

Snape nodded back and seemed to suddenly think of something.  "The manner of your arrival was odd; it seemed as though you apparated…"

"But you can't apparate on Hogwarts grounds," Casey finished. 

"No, that is possible," Snape said slowly, and Casey gulped.  What good was listening to Hermione if she could even be _right_?  "I was going to say that you are too young to have an apparating license."

"I know," Casey said, thinking quickly.  "It… it was a portkey.  I charmed it myself and I've never done it before; that's why I ended up in the Great Hall instead of the Entrance Hall."

"Ah," the Slytherin acknowledged.  "Perhaps if you show me the charm you used, I can point out what went wrong."

_Uh oh_.  "I don't have my wand," she said swiftly, glad that she had a reasonable excuse. 

"That's all right."  Snape pulled a polished wand from his pocket.  "You may use mine."

Warning bells sounded in her head.  She couldn't get out of it; she was completely alone in the hallway with _Snape_, of all people!  "Oh, um… your wand may not work for me," she sputtered, shying away from him.

"We'll see," Snape said, eyes bright.  "Give it a wave.  Let's see if it makes sparks."

_Crap_, _crap_, _crap_!  Snape had put the wand in her hand and was watching her expectantly.  She couldn't wave it!  Nothing would happen and a _Death Eater_ would know!  "I… I don't want to," she said, trying to shove the wand back into his hands. 

Snape sneered and gripped her hand tightly, forcing her to keep holding the wand.  "Oh, I think you should."

Casey shook her head, trying to pull her hand away.  "No."

"Wave it!"

"No!"

Snape's grip tightened and Casey winced.  "Wave it," he spat, his voice deathly calm.  With a flick of his wrist, he dropped her hand in such a way that she waved her hand… and the wand.

Casey's breath caught in her chest.  Nothing happened.  _Oh no_.

Snape gave her a feral grin, snatched the wand, and backed her into a wall, holding the wand loosely under her chin.  "Well, now.  Isn't this interesting?  A squib at Hogwarts.  How lucky for you."

"Filch's a squib," Casey said defensively, trying to look down at the wand, and thankful that the Slytherin had come to the wrong conclusion.

"Filch is employed here.  You, however, are a student."

Casey tried to look nonchalant as she shrugged her shoulders.  "Dumbledore's a good man."

"Oh, yes," Snape sneered.  "He takes in mudbloods and squibs and… what's this?" he said, looking cruelly surprised.  "I'm sure that you know Lupin's little secret by now, don't you?  You've been accepted into their group so readily.  Tell me, where does Lupin go once a month?"

_Oh crap_, _oh crap_, _oh bloody_ crap!  "I just got here," she said.  "How should I know?"  It was difficult to breathe. 

"If I were you, I would not be so impertinent when there is a wand held at your chin."

He had set himself up too easily, and Casey, ever the motion picture scholar, quipped, "If you were me, I'd be ugly."  _Thank you_,_ Peter Pan_.

"Shut up," Snape snapped childishly. 

Again, the movie bug just _had_ to bite.  Wrinkling her nose, Casey said, "Dude… you need a tic tac."  _Good Burger, I salute you._

He probably hadn't understood the tic tac comment, but Snape flushed all the same and the wand pressed into Casey's neck.  She whimpered as Snape moved closer, glaring at her angrily.  "Where does he go every _full moon_?"

"I hardly think that you should expect her to know _everything_ yet, Snivellus.  She only just got here, after all."

Never had Casey been gladder to see Sirius Black in her life.  Snape immediately let Casey go and stepped back, his attention focused instead on Sirius.  Sirius kept his blazing eyes trained on Snape, but said, "Casey, go on to the library.  I'll come and get you in a bit."

Casey nodded and nearly ran to the hall to the library. 

Exciting enough, I hope, to make up for the large amount of time between updates. Review, please!


	7. December 30, 1976 continued

**Crying Sorceress:** Fluff? In a Remus story? Now whatever would give you that idea… wink OH! And: I may just use that idea of yours on our lovely Severus…. 

**Snowfire the Kitsune:** gets bowled over by the mischief AH!

**Niniane, Lady of the Lake:** Roadkill joke is coming up, honest!

**mioni-bear:** Lol. Staring at Sirius? I sigh dreamily at him… grins

**Haldirs-Wife:** Thank you very much. That part came easily, surprisingly enough.

**DistinctVagueness:** Thank _you_ very much. It was odd that that part took absolutely no thought… but this chapter attempted to kill me. No, really, I woke up with it standing over my bed holding a knife! It could have just been looking for my rat, but, you know…

**Autumn Darkness:** Yes, my dear, gladder is a word. Happy 16th!!

**Cabbywolf:** I'm glad you like it! It means more to me to have a fan that doesn't normally like this type of work, but likes mine. Thank you!

**"blahblah":** Lol. Not many people like Snape, I'm afraid.

**"JenCarpeDiem":** I agree, I agree, I agree. It takes more than just a girl, I'm afraid, to change one's personality so entirely as Sirius would have to if he wanted to quit being such a git.

**"dogstarlurva":** Lol. Thank you!

**esteledhel:** LOL! I agree times three! Snape is such a… well, there isn't a word, actually, to describe him. Let's make one up, shall we?

**Naomi Maxwell:** I'm so sorry that it took so long to update! Life nearly swallowed me whole.

**Sweet A.K.:** Peter Pan _does_ rock!

**Haldir's Elven Archer:** Mutant dust bunnies! shrieks and wields her Chopsticks of Power

**Estriel:** Lol. I feel the same way when I find a good story. Sorry that I didn't update for so long…

**Muse-Calliope:** I would too! Except I don't plan on shagging _anybody_ until I've married them… so I'll just have to jump on one of them and marry them, _then_ shag them, eh?

**Lily of the Shadow:** Sorry that it took so long!

**Nerwen Elendil:** So many people seem to have felt the same way! It was so sad… sniffle

**"Brat":** Thank you so much! I hope that you're still reading!

Wow! There are so many of you… blinks rapidly I am SO sorry that the update took so freaking long. Many things happened to me (Crappezoids, jobs, Peter Pan, university, jobs, etc.), but that's really no excuse. I just found out that one of my little friends (a nine-year-old named Emma) is very, very sick and has gone on some serious medication to try and help her. Please pray for her!

Thank you to **Hathor**, The Beta Extraordinaire (who, I've been informed, has just finished her exams until January, yey!).

**December 30, 1976 continued…**

Casey perched herself on the edge of a table near the entrance of the library. Her feet dangled far from the floor, the result of her small stature and tables far too big for anyone. The tables had been built long ago, which only made their size even more puzzling. Wasn't the human race supposed to be getting _taller_ over time?

Most of the tables were set together in long columns throughout the library. They had been polished and finished until the dark wood was smooth and radiant. This was one of the reasons that Casey had fallen in love with the library the second she opened the doors. A cool draft smelling of old paper had rushed over her and filled her senses. There were books as far as the eye could see, and the air was cold and close. The familiar atmosphere was the second reason that the library had caught her fancy.

"This library has _got_ to be new," Sirius said as he pushed open the doors and spotted Casey.

"Then how did you find it?" she asked.

Sirius grinned cheekily. "Instinct."

Casey rolled her eyes, not amused. "What happened with Snape?"

As quickly as a flame is doused, Sirius's face darkened and his eyes glinted. He did, however, attempt to cover it with his usual carefree manner. "Oh… hexed him a few times. Nothing much."

"That seems kind of simple," Casey pointed out, eyeing Sirius carefully.

Sirius shrugged. "Snivellus might have _scared_ you, Casey, but he's not powerful or brave."

Casey could have pointed out that future events contradicted that sentiment, but reminded herself that that might be _bad_. She chewed her lip thoughtfully, and then repeated slowly, "So… you hexed him a few times." Sirius nodded, and Casey frowned. "Isn't that against the rules?"

Again, Sirius shrugged. "It's only _Snape_, and besides, if I was caught, I'd only get detention, and I've got a record to make." His eyes twinkled happily.

Casey shook her head in disbelief and stared at him. That smirk of his was infectious, and as much as she didn't find his hexing Snape particularly _funny_, Sirius still managed to make her want to smile about it.

Sirius tilted him chin up, his hair slipping back from his face, and smiled smugly. "Like what you see?"

"No," Casey replied slowly, determined to take his confidence down a notch. "It's just… you're like… _roadkill_."

Sirius blinked in surprise and looked back at her. "How so?" he asked curiously.

"Like a dead animal in the road… I want to look away, but I just can't."

Unfortunately, Sirius only looked puzzled for a moment before deciding to take this as a compliment and grinning cockily at her. Casey rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the table. She strolled over to a bookcase, pulled out the list of books that Lily had made for her, and started scanning for any book that looked familiar. Sirius followed her and positioned himself much too close on her left. It made her skin crawl, in fact. It probably wasn't anything personal – she'd had the same problem with Jaime occasionally – but at the moment, it seemed _very_ personal. She squirmed away. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sirius grin mischievously, and she inwardly groaned as he copied her movement. Pretending to see an interesting book, she moved a step to the right. Again, Sirius followed her. He tilted his head so that his face was close to her hair…

… and sniffed. Casey spun towards him so fast that he had to jump away to keep their heads from colliding. "What the heck are you _doing_?" Casey shrieked, surveying him in horror.

Sirius gazed at her amusedly, that ever-present smirk playing on his lips. "Do all men make you this nervous?"

Casey immediately gave him a cold look. "And who says you're a man?" she snapped. With that, she stomped past him, making sure to bump her shoulder into his, and threw herself out the library doors.

She hadn't gotten very far before Sirius was by her side again. He slung an arm over her shoulders and leaned on her companionably. "So," he said cheerfully, "did it hurt?"

Casey gave him an odd look. "Did what hurt?"

Sirius smiled at her sweetly. "When you fell from heaven," he said matter-of-factly.

Surprised at his lameness, Casey blinked and stopped in her tracks. "That has got to be the oldest line in the book!" she exclaimed.

"No, it isn't," Sirius immediately retorted. "I just made it up!"

"You did not."

"Did so!"

"Not."

"So!"

"Not!"

"So!"

"Sirius, you did _not_ times _infinity_, so there!"

Sirius sputtered, and then grew indignant. "Did so times infinity plus _one_. There. I win!"

"There's nothing bigger than infinity, Sirius," Casey said, irritated.

"But if there ever was, then I did so one more!"

Casey rolled her eyes. _Two can easily play at this game_. _You don't even have to be clever_. "Well, then, you did _not_ times infinity to the infinity power plus infinity to the infinity power."

Sirius stared at her, blinked, and said, "What?"

Casey huffed and resumed her aggressive walk back to the common room.

Sirius had soon caught up to her again, and strolled along next to her with his hands clasped behind his back. For a moment, there was silence, but only a moment. Soon enough, Sirius spoke up. "Know what I think is wonky?" he asked.

_Wonky_? "No…," Casey said uncertainly.

"Fingernails," Sirius said, bringing his hands up to his face and examining the nails. "They have no purpose. They were just put there!"

Casey raised an eyebrow, making sure that Sirius could clearly see in her expression that she thought he was certifiably insane. "You scratch things that itch with fingernails."

"But couldn't we just twist and scratch with our teeth?"

_How in the world does he live to see thirty-five_,_ let alone seventeen_? As his last comment was too stupid to even consider answering, Casey ignored him and resumed her walk to the common room.

"Know what?" Sirius said eagerly, trotting to catch up with her.

_Please go for intelligent this time_, _Chuckles_. "What?"

"I can say that word from that Muggle film five times fast."

_What_, _you mean _that_ movie_? "Good for you…"

"Watch! Supercalafragilistic supercalafragilistic super—"

_Dear Lord_, _why did you send me to hell_? _Oh well…._ "You forgot expialladocious."

"No, I know, but I'm doing supercalafra—"

"—gilistic, I know. But it's an entire _phrase_. You can't say them separately, or they don't make sense."

Sirius frowned thoughtfully, and tugged on her arm to make her stop. "Why aren't you like other girls?" he asked.

_Is he insulting me_? "What?"

"Why are you acting like Evans?"

"Like Lily?" Casey asked, staring at him. What was he getting at?

Sirius sighed in frustration. "You disagree with everything I say. I want to know why."

_Gee_…_ let me take a wild guess_. "Maybe it's because I don't _agree_ with everything you say."

Sirius laughed, and clapped her roughly on the back. "Well, finally! I thought you'd never make a joke. Smashing to see that sense of humor, really."

Casey blinked. Oh, yes, those fan fiction writers had gotten it right without even knowing. Sirius Black was handsome, charming, effortlessly talented, and freaking _stupid_. "Why was Snape asking about Remus?" she asked sharply.

Nothing could have gotten his attention faster. Casey had never understood how people's eyes gave away their emotions. She supposed that, when not really noticing the entire facial expression, but taking it in all the same, you could say that the eyes expressed emotion. But Sirius… his eyes literally became shadowy. Casey's confidence dwindled into nothing, and she leaned back away from him instinctively.

"Snivellus is far too nosy for his own good. Whatever he asked you about was nothing more than unfounded fabrications to try and weasel something out of you," Sirius explained coolly. Casey wondered how often the Marauders had been almost caught at their game. Sirius's reaction suggested that it hadn't been often; he was much too easily defensive. Then again, maybe he was just still on Snape Mode.

To test Sirius's secret-keeping ability (which she was sure to be great), she pointed out, "But even fabrications begin with some truth. Besides, why would he single Remus out? From what I understand, it is you and James that cause the blatant trouble around the castle." He would assume that Lily had told her this. He needn't be told that she _read_ about him. His head was big enough!

Sirius watched her with a calculating look. "Remus," he said slowly, "is really the mastermind of the pranks. He's the one who finds all the spells we use. Snape was just trying to get him out of the picture, I expect."

"Oh." Casey nodded thoughtfully and began walking again. For a few long moments, there was silence, in which Casey noticed that Sirius had relaxed. Yet she couldn't let him away yet. Oh no, like any girl being doted on by a boy, she wanted to be trusted _absolutely_. That meant that he'd better tell her his secrets, and he'd better tell her soon. And like any girl, she was naturally gifted in the art of manipulation, however subtly. "Why did Snape ask me about the full moon?" she questioned innocently.

Apparently he _had_ still been on Snape Mode when she'd irked him before. This time, he was completely calm and nonchalant. "He's Severus bloody Snape, Casey. Who knows why he does anything?"

Casey chewed on a corner of her bottom lip. "Yeah, I suppose… but it just seemed weird that he asked me about the full moon, what with this morning and all."

That _must_ have hit him like a ton of bricks. "This morning?" he asked, only the slightest bit of panic tainting his innocent question.

"Well, yes," Casey continued unconcernedly. "You all cornered me about the moon on the window, but who ever said it was a moon? It was just a circle; it could have been anything that resembles a circle, as I quite suck at drawing."

"We didn't _corner_ you," Sirius said defensively. "We just wanted to know why you were drawing on the window, especially as you were drawing about _Remus_, of all people."

_Hey_, _buddy_, _slow down or your head'll explode from Too Much Ego_. "Well, if you had looked more closely, you would have seen that I wasn't _only_ drawing about Remus. He just happened to be the last thing I put on the window before Lily came down. Now what is up with the moon? I _get_ that it's a secret already; it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. But _why_ is Snape trying to figure _that particular_ secret out? Did you let it slip? What?"

By this time, they had reached the common room. Casey announced the password to the Fat Lady and climbed inside. Sirius followed her, frowning and saying, "Well it's not as if we're not _careful_. The only place Snape could have possibly ever heard about the moon would be if he's been _following_ us, or if he intercepted one of our letters."

Well, that seemed incredibly stupid to Casey. How had this Sirius ever grown up? The adult Sirius _knew_ not to write anything important in a letter. How did these kids ever make it out of school?

Casey rounded on Sirius. "A very wise man who is no longer living once explained that you can't say everything you want to in a _letter_," she snapped angrily, easily recalling one of the grown-up Sirius's letters to Harry in _Goblet of Fire_, warning the boy to be careful.

"If he's so smart," Sirius said smugly, "then why's he _dead_?"

Casey gave a sort of agitated squeak, spun on her heal, and marched out of the portrait hole.

Sirius watched her go curiously. "She didn't take that very well," he said.

"And no one can understand why," Remus, who was lounging on a couch reading a book, commented dryly.

Sorry that it's so short and that it took so long in coming out!

By the way, for those of you who didn't like the Prisoner of Azkaban movie, I have a quote for you: "No one who read the book will be disappointed, and I'm completely happy with it." – J.K. Rowling, about the latest Harry Potter film, Prisoner of Azkaban.

So there. nods My thinking is, that if the author of the entire series loved the movie and wasn't disappointed with anything, then we have no reason to think otherwise.

Review if you like (Lord knows I love getting them)!


	8. January 2, 1977

**Arch of Wand (x2):** You were my one-hundredth reviewer, yey! Go Risa! claps And Tim Taylor and Mark Taylor have dressed up as women to cheer Jill on… hee hee. Silly Tim Taylor. You do know what I'm talking about, right? Oh dear….

**"blahblah":** Idn't he, though? We love our Sirius. grin 

**Autumn Darkness:** Yes, I am marvelous, aren't I? accidentally falls out of her chair 

**Snowfire**** the Kitsune:** Your mischief must have smacked him in the face, because I went a bit rambly in this chapter. Oh well. I think it's funny. grin 

**Niniane****, Lady of the ****Lake****** I sure took a while, didn't I? sigh And I obviously didn't go to the "Dress for Life" thing… feels sheepish 

**nexiumchick****** Meh heh. He is hot, isn't he? bats her eyes dreamily at an increasingly disturbed Sirius 

**Haldir's**** Elven Archer:** weilds her new Mutant Vacuum and watches carefully for the Mutant Dust Bunnies Um… um… darts behind Sirius Thank you for the support about my little friend. She just something installed in her chest so that she won't have to be on an IV all the time.

**MauraMellon****** Thank you for the compliments. I don't normally read these types of fics either. In fact, I've only read a couple, and I don't like them. Too bad they're what I like to write. Lol. grin I hope you keep reading!

**Jack Sparrow's Only Love:** Thank you! I hope you keep reading!

**DistinctVagueness****** Lol. Don't you just love ranting about PoA? I don't, because I don't particularly like being angry… anyway. Sirius is fun to write about, because for as much as people write him one-dimensionally, he's really very complicated.

**SlvrDragon325:** Thank you for the review, and I hope you like this chapter!

**Plumkin**** (x3):** Zoe, Zoe, Zoe. Don't look every day for an update, because you know me, and therefore, you should know that my updates are very sporadic. I would change this if I could, but I cannot force myself to write. Anywho… hope you had fun at camp!

**"merlindamage":** salutes And I listen to my fans! Just not about timing, sadly enough. Thanks for the review!

**Panny**** Savage: **I hate it when people instantly fall in love with each other. Sirius's obsession is just that: an obsession, nothing else. He somehow got it into his head that he wanted Casey, and thus, he must have Casey. Casey, on the other hand… well. chuckles 

**"Jessie":** Lol. Sirius and his pick-up lines. He's got a few more up his sleeve, I'm afraid.

**Tapdancing**** Parakeet:** Thank you! I love reviewers who don't say something somewhat meaningless like, "Great story update soon," and actually pick out something that they like. Casey has been developed a great deal more than any of my other original characters. I hope you keep reading! (nice penname, by the way!)

**Lady Phoenix Slytherin:** Thank you; I hope you keep reading!

**TonksIsMyHero**** (x2):** Lol. I was inspired by "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson, I believe, is her name. Very good book. nods sagely 

**esteledhel****** LOL. Unfortunately for you, I stole Sirius and married him long, long ago. Before the beginning of time, actually, because I stole a time machine and had a Neanderthal priest marry us. MWAHA!

**Taffy C. Hedgehog:** gasp GIRL SCOUT COOKIES! Are they samoas (or however you spell it)? Those are my favorite. grin 

**love**** eternity:** I'm glad you think it's good. Thanks for the review!

**"Julia1524":** Lol. He'll have enough sense by the end, I assure you. Thanks for the review!

Sorry that this took so long. I _did_ submit my two weeks notice on the 29th of July, though, so I should have more time for writing soon. YEY! claps 

"A paradox is not necessarily a bad thing." – Wilson Wilson.

****

**December 30, 1976**** continued…**

Not long ago, Casey would have told you that Sirius's sheer brilliance would have overshadowed his stupidity. She would have argued for his honor, and fought for his resurrection.

Casey never thought she'd been very smart, anyway.

By the time she had stomped her way back to the library, some of her annoyance with Sirius had evaporated, and what was left disappeared when she realized something very neat.

She'd very likely caused a paradox. Not a large or important one, to be sure, and she couldn't be positive… but wasn't it likely possible that Grown Up Sirius had only known not to write things in letters because she'd told him in his past that he'd known? As mind-boggling as it was to think about, Casey was by this time very nearly convinced that she'd caused a paradox, and was feeling quite good about herself.

Now, by chance, Casey had long ago learned the words to "I'm Too Sexy," and at times like these, when she was sure of herself, the tune began to blast relentlessly in her head until such a time as she could relieve it by belting out the lyrics. She was itching to do so now, but as she had just made it back to the library, singing at the top of her lungs would be considered only a bit inappropriate.

Instead, she sang quietly, "I'm too sexy for my love, too sexy for my love, love's going to leave me… I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it hurts…"

"What's that?" someone asked loudly from behind her.

Casey shrieked, dropped a book she'd been examining, and turned in irritation to face Sirius, who was watching her curiously. And that was how Sirius happened to learn the song "I'm Too Sexy" before it was ever created. By some coincidence, an English band some years later produced an identical song, which became very popular, and remained so for years after.

**January 2, 1977**

_Dear Journal,_

_Everyone thinks that 1977 is an achievement. I'd like to see what they think of my coming from 2003, where any of them that survived are now forty-three years old. Actually… that sounds quite appealing. _

_Anyways, the rest of the students got back today, and as the Marauders seemed to feel that their New Years party yesterday wasn't quite destructive enough, they're downstairs in the common room wrecking more furniture and just generally wreaking havoc. I'm surprised McGonagall hasn't dropped in to shut them up yet; they're awfully loud. The last time I was downstairs, Sirius had jumped onto one of the tables and was stripping to "I'm Too Sexy." Too bad that he didn't grasp that it's a stupid song… neither did most of the girls, as they were all giggling like cows (don't ask) and blushing like clowns. Weird metaphors, but that's what they were doing!_

_"Supper" was… annoying. I kind of sneaked in with Lily and hid on her left side while she introduced me to Alice (who I'll tell you about later). Most everybody was too preoccupied with greeting everyone they recognized; they just sort of glossed over me until they'd settled in. The Slytherins aren't much for civilities, I guess, because they were the first to notice. 'Course, they had Snape to tell them, but nevertheless, they saw me first, and it kind of spread after that. _

_Disease among the Slytherins spreads fast, I've heard, and it's the same when there's something for them to plot against. I've been keeping an eye on Snape since he stopped me in the corridor the other day (I'm not sure that Sirius only hexed him), so I saw it when he nudged the Slytherin next to him and nodded in my direction. I tried my best to look nonchalant and as if I'd been at Hogwarts for years, but I never could act. The next time I glanced over at their table, every Slytherin was looking at me, and boy, can they look. They're _evil_, I tell you!_

_It didn't take even a minute for most of the school to latch onto the idea. Dumbledore (batty old man, anyway) just _had_ to help them along by making an announcement about me. He did a fine job of it; he's got to be one of the best liars of all time. He told them all about how my parents were researchers for "_Muggles: Behavior, Watches, and General Misconceptions of the Blender_," which apparently means that I traveled a lot (ironically, mostly in __America__). Apparently, my parents decided that it was high time for me to become a properly socialized Brit. This, quite obviously, is why they called an old, favorite professor of Dad's (remember, to everyone else's knowledge, I was born in 1960), Dumbledore. Now, obviously, as I'm to research Muggles myself after school, I won't be needing to _use_ magic, just understand the concepts and have a generally well-rounded education. Thus, I was brought to Hogwarts with the plan that I would emerge with the basis for which my research on Muggles will be grounded._

_This is all news to me. _

_Good story, though. _

_So here I am, a Muggle studying to study Muggles, and all I'm thinking about at the moment is that they should make the spell on chocolate frogs last longer so that they wriggle around in your stomach. I read earlier that a wizard named Bing Garhattenbug (what a name) caught a frog, knocked it out, dipped it in chocolate, and gave it to his ex-wife as a pseudo make-up present. When she bit the frog's leg off, it woke up, croaked madly at her, and took off, spurting blood everywhere. The ex-wife leaped up on her chair and shrieked, like anyone might. The next day, she sued her ex-husband for the prank, and the chocolate frog manufacturers for giving him the idea in the first place. She is now very rich and living in __Corsica__. Bing went bankrupt from his revenge and now lives in St. Mungo's, having daily discussions with his thumb. Apparently the shock of having caused himself to lose all his money made him go a bit insane. _

_Maybe he'll make friends with Lockhart someday. _

_But I promised to tell you about __Alice__, didn't I?_

_Maybe later.__ At the moment, I'd like to discuss naming your child Bing. It's bad enough to be named something bland like Gertrude, or Leslie when you're a guy… but Bing? Okay, so there was Bing Crosby. Not all Bings can be famous or Chinese or __Chandler__, or all of the above, for that matter. This Bing (the Ex-Husband Bing) was a boring old Scotsman who apparently thought it was terribly clever to change things around and call girls "laddies" and boys "lassies." Mrs. Bing probably got taken in by this seeming cleverness, but divorced him when she found out that he was really rather stupid. So why would his parents name him Bing in the first place? Perhaps he was an ugly baby, or they decided to wait until he talked to give him a name. The first word he ever said could have, oddly enough, been bing. Or maybe his parents were also the sort to gives themselves the illusion of cleverness in naming their kid something weird, in the hopes that it would make him famous. That plan worked to a point; he _is_ infamous._

_Anyway, as I've gotten terribly off track, I'll move back along, shall I? All right. __Alice__. She is most definitely the future Mrs. Longbottom. She's got a plump, healthy face and large eyes. She's also got blonde hair, which I suppose makes sense, as when the Golden Trio see her in Mungo's in Fifth Year, she has white hair. Maybe being tortured turns your hair white… _

_Alice is a very nice girl, I guess, but it's hard to tell as I've only met her once, isn't it? She greeted me as you would any stranger. She was polite and hid her curiosity well. What else is there to say? It's a bit lonely now that she's back, though, because she and Lily are friends, and they have a lot to talk about. It might die down in a few days, but oh well. There's not much I can do about it, is there?_

_And now I've gotten dull. Good-bye._

_- Casey_

_P.S. Sirius is an idiot._

**January 3, 1977**

Strangely enough, school turned out to be entirely worse than regular school, in Casey's opinion. This was mostly due to the fact that she'd missed the first five and a half years of basic education, but she was also entirely unused to being stared at while she was trying to concentrate. In Transfiguration, she was paired up with James, who spent most of the class attempting to impress her, and looking over his shoulder to see if Lily had noticed that he was devoting his time to "helping" a new student. Apparently James was the best in the class, and this must have been why McGonagall paired him with Casey, but he was a crappy teacher, and only served in making her feel more lost than she probably was.

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Casey had Transfiguration first, Divination second, and Muggle Studies last (which Casey didn't entirely understand, as Dumbledore arranged her schedule, and also claimed that she had been living among Muggles her entire life… who did he think she was, Hermione?).

When James found out that she had Divination next, he clapped her roughly on the back and announced that so did he and Sirius and Peter. The trip up to the Divination tower was a complicated matter. Casey was what you would call lazy, and the trek from the Transfiguration classroom to the other side of the castle was a bit long. More than once, the boys stopped to give her time to catch her breath, which of course only made her irritated with her own inability to keep up, and she failed to understand why it was important for Sirius to think well of her when she didn't want his attention in the first place.

By the time they made it up to the tower, all four of them were nearly fifteen minutes late, but the boys got them out of that easily. James claimed to have had a premonition that someone was in trouble, and Sirius made this story even more exciting by saying that it had been a linked premonition, as he'd had it too. They had both felt that someone was in trouble, apparently, and followed their Inner Eye(s) until they found Casey, who was hopelessly lost.

The Divination instructor, Professor Plank, thought that this was very good news, and applauded the boys for continuing their education in the art of Seeing outside of the classroom. Casey was welcomed hospitably and supposedly comforted with the knowledge that over time, she would learn, through Plank's teaching, how to find her way using her Eye. Casey only pinched her lips together to keep from telling the Professor quite matter-of-factly that she had _two_ eyes, and she could use them very well already, thank you very much.

Muggle Studies was the only place that she did not feel lost, and welcomed the change with open arms. She had the class with the four Marauders, and by the end, had resurrected her failing courage in the realization that she was better at _some_ things, and that those things were just as important as the things that she was lost in. The only classmates that she considered formidable opponents were Remus Lupin and Lily Evans, though with the former, Casey saw more competition, as Lily had also grown up as a Muggle.

_So HA!_ Casey scribbled in her journal at the end of the day, when she had finished her homework and felt accomplished. Maybe she would make it after all.

Be sure to check out my new Yahoo!Group, URL http:(two slashes)groups(dot)yahoo(dot)com(slash)group(slash)travelers(underscore)universe . Hope to see you there!

Review if you like, and let me know what you thought about this chapter! It helps me know what to write next, and what styles go over best. __


	9. January 5, 1977

**Autumn Darkness:** You most certainly _can_ join me in killing Quick Edit! How are you doing? I miss you… only three more weeks!

**"Morgaine of Ithil":** Lol. I think everyone hates Quick Edit… thanks so much!

**Panny**** Savage:** Hm… magic carpets… (taps chin)

**little**** elfling:** I'm sorry that it took so long… this chapter is extra long, though, so I hope that makes up for it.

**Xylem (x4):** No, Casey is not Riley. Casey is nervous and shy. She has to learn to defend herself against Sirius, though, so you'll see a bit of attitude from her. Feel free to commandeer "Frodo of the Nine Fingers." It's the title of a fan song, actually. Lol… I might eventually do and Traveler – Pirates, but one never knows, eh? Oh… and I can't tell you about Haldir's fate. MWAHA!

**"RainySunshine":** I absolutely adore Sirius in anything as well, which is why he was chosen. You really have to love him… Lol. We might see Bellatrix. I never really know how I'm getting to the end of the story… I just know I'm on my way, and nothing short of loss of limb will hold me back from reaching it!

**Tapdancing**** Parakeet:** Well, I would be the _real_ Mrs. Sirius Black, so those pennames always bug me too… (grins sheepishly) I love time paradoxes! They're so fun to analyze… you just can't go into it too much, or you confuse people, and lose readers/viewers. (sigh) Alas for illogically-minded individuals. Watch for many more paradoxes in the future… she has to have a _point_ in being there, you know. And about the journals… I love writing from Casey's point of view. She shows a bit of attitude with Sirius, but with the others, she's quite shy, so the journals are a great way to see how sharp she really is.

**"Brat":** Aw, thank you, sweetie, and you're welcome!

**Pirate of the Pool:** That's great that you're in the group! We need to start livening things up a bit, I think. Perhaps another contest?

**InflictedEclipse** Lol. I actually vacuumed my room for the first time since I moved in. I'm not afraid to sit on the floor anymore, yey! I'll be checking out your LotR story soon, by the way…

**Kay50:** Thanks for the review! Sorry for the long wait…

**Alahria**** Silvermoon:** Thanks for the review! Sorry for the terrible wait...

**Cassandra Thacker:** Oh, dude, how'd you guess? Of course we'll see Snape again… he won't be a central threat, but he is _there_, after all, and it's not as if the Marauders laid off of him after The Incident…. Sadly, I can't tell you about any more time-sucking. You'll just have to read to find out. MWAHA!

**_Author's Note:_** How can I possibly even _begin_ to apologize for the enormous wait for this chapter? I can't really, and that's the thing. I am _so freaking sorry_ that it's taken this long, and I have absolutely no excuse. To tell the truth, the past few months have gone by so quickly that I didn't even realize it had been as long as it had. (sigh) I'm sorry! I did, however, decide to hold off for another couple weeks while I added loads of pages… I decided that I'd make the read worth the wait, and moved up my plans a bit. So here you have it: the longest chapter I've ever written at a whopping 18 full pages (that's without all the thank you's and author's notes). I hope you enjoy it… I'd like to think that it's exciting. :)

**Thank you **to the most gorgeous, intelligent beta in the world,** Hathor **(who I've just found out is 'Hathor the Horribly Ill'), for still being there for me after all this time. Thanks, sweetie!

* * *

**January 5, 1977**

"No." Casey shook her head adamantly, glaring at Sirius with as much hatred as she could muster.

"Come on, Casey. All you have to do is wear it." Sirius dangled a crystal on a silver chain and smiled appealingly. Only two weeks in the general vicinity, and Casey already knew better. Sirius had had a wickedly mischievous look in his eyes when he'd first produced the necklace, and Casey had discovered, after the majority of the students had returned, that very few could detect the maniacal glee with which Sirius brought about a prank. He would get a tiny little gleam in his eyes as they narrowed, pinpointing their target, and the right corner of his mouth would twitch. It made him look dangerous and not wholly unappealing, but Casey knew it, and immediately ran from it full tilt.

"No," Casey snapped, pinching her lips together and scrunching up her nose in distaste. "It's ugly," she said by way of an excuse. It wasn't entirely ugly, but it was rather large and flashy… not much to her taste.

Sirius blinked and stared at her in disbelief. "This," he said slowly, as if explaining to a child, "is of the latest style. You cannot possibly think _this_ is ugly."

"Well, I do," Casey said shortly, turning back to her breakfast, and attempting to ignore the envious looks from various girls around the Hall.

She felt Sirius stare at her for a moment before he plunked the necklace down on the table next to her. "Casey, you are so unhip," he said in exasperation, "I'm amazed your bum hasn't fallen off."

Catching herself just before she giggled girlishly, Casey demanded sharply, "Been eyeing my bum, have you?"

"I have!" Sirius declared loudly, throwing his hands up in the air. "Not," he added as an afterthought.

Feeling that this was the easiest possible way she could contrive to get away from him as soon as possible, Casey slammed her fork down on her plate and hissed, "I would _appreciate_ it if you would keep your perverted tendencies out of _my _life."

"All right, all right," Sirius muttered, shaking his head in frustration. "Don't get your knickers in a twist…"

Casey snatched the necklace from the table and threw it into Sirius's lap. "Keep your stupid necklace, Black." With that, and having finished her breakfast, Casey stood up and marched proudly out of the Great Hall, feeling quite accomplished to have fended him off yet again.

Her annoyance flared into full force, however, when Sirius stormed out of the doors behind her. "What is your problem? I tried to give you a _gift_, and you threw it back in my face!"

"I threw it back in your lap, thanks," Casey said smartly, stomping on.

Sirius grabbed her arm and pulled her back, staring at her with flashing eyes. "_Why_ do you insist on making this so difficult?"

Thousands of answers she could have given flitted through her mind, but she chose one from Peter Pan for its coolness and applicability. "Sir, I find you both ungallant and deficient."

"How am I deficient?" Sirius demanded softly, dangerously.

Casey shook her head slowly, pulling her arm gently out of his grasp. "You're just a boy," she said softly, and continued her way up to Gryffindor tower to retrieve her books. _Take that_, _Sirius Black_, she thought to herself smugly. _Let's see you try and impress me after that_.

"Can I ask you a question?" Sirius asked her later that day as the older students lounged and studied in the Common Room. He was hanging upside-down on a couch, fluffy black hair falling in choppy layers toward the floor.

"No," Casey muttered distractedly as she attempted to understand her Potions textbook.

Sirius leaned his head up to give her a disgruntled look, and then let it flop back to its upside-down position. "Don't be a brat," he grumbled.

"Don't ask rhetorical questions," she replied, flipping to the next page.

They were quiet for a moment longer before Sirius informed her, "I'm going to ask you a question now."

"Mmhmm."

"Do you like midnight walks?'

"Mmhmm."

"Casey."

"Hmm." Sirius sat up, snatched her textbook from her, and tossed it away toward Remus, who was studying at a table by the windows. "Hey!" Casey protested, standing up to retrieve her book, but Sirius grabbed her arms and pulled her back down so that he could look at her.

"Do you like midnight walks?" he asked again.

Feeling thoroughly frustrated with him for throwing a _school book_ across the room, Casey narrowed her eyes and answered childishly, "I'm not telling."

The corner of Sirius's mouth twitched, but he determinably kept a serious face. "This is very important, Casey…"

"So was my Potions homework!" Casey interrupted

"You can do that anytime," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"I can _not_!" Casey exclaimed, staring at Sirius in exasperation. "If you hadn't noticed, I am so far behind, I'm in danger of falling off the train."

"It's not that hard," Sirius replied, relaxing back into his upside-down position. "You'll catch up faster than you can say 'Petrificus totalus.'"

"Which is a useless hex, because it takes so long to say," Casey continued. "How is it that _you_ never have to study?"

Sirius tapped his increasingly pink forehead knowingly. "Photographic memory, m'dear. I remember everything I see, which is why I'll never forget your bum and…"

Casey had just raised a hand to slap him when she found Remus Lupin standing in front of her, holding out her Potions book, and smiling tiredly. His skin was the whitest she'd ever seen, and for a moment, Casey stared at him in surprise, wondering when, exactly, those rings had appeared beneath his eyes, and how long it had been since he'd been able to smile easily.

"Don't mind him," Remus said softly, glancing at Sirius, who was looking quite happy with himself. "He was dropped on his head several times as a baby, and has never recovered."

Casey grinned and accepted her book back gratefully, saying a quiet, "Thanks."

Remus was holding his left wrist in his right hand, and twisted his hand around his wrist almost as if he was nervous. "If you're having trouble catching up, I can tutor you in some of the subjects, if you'd like."

Casey's face lit up hopefully. "Which subjects?"

Remus stopped twisting his hand around his wrist. "Oh, well, my favorite subject is Defense Against the Dart Arts…"

_So predictable_, Casey thought to herself happily.

"And I'm fair, I suppose, in Charms…"

_Is he shaking_? Casey focused on his hands, which weren't twisting his wrist anymore, but rather trembling slightly, as if he was exhausted.

As if sensing her gaze, Remus went back to twisting a hand around his wrist as he continued, "If you want help with Ancient Runes or Transfiguration, I study once a week with a girl from Ravenclaw. She'd more than likely be happy to help you…"

_Is he twisting his wrists like that so that no one notices that he's twitching_? "Uh huh…" she said distractedly before turning her attention to actually answering him. "That would be great, Remus, thanks." Now that she thought of it, even his smile was quivering a bit…

"Moony, you look tired. Why don't you get some sleep before you _head home_?" Sirius suggested.

_Home_? _Why would Remus be_… _oh_. _Oh my word_.

Playing ignorant, Casey asked, "Oh, are you going home, Remus?"

Remus nodded, forcing himself to stop twisting his wrist. "Yeah. My mum gets sick a lot…"

"We all think that Remus is a mummy's boy and has to go home to get his monthly dose of maternal affection," Sirius whispered loudly.

Remus tossed him a look. "… so I go home to visit. She likes it when I'm there."

_Is he_… _swaying_? "Oh." Casey tried to smile. "That's really sweet of you Remus… but you really do look tired. Why don't you go and get some rest, and I'll talk to you about tutoring when you get back?"

Remus smiled, gave her a grateful nod, and shuffled toward the dormitory staircases. Casey stared after him pensively before stating nonchalantly, "He seemed awfully exhausted."

Sirius only shrugged. "He studies too much for his own good."

"Hmm." Turning away from the stairs, Casey settled back into the couch and reopened her Potions book.

"So," Sirius began, still hanging upside-down, "do you like midnight walks?"

Casey sighed heavily and answered, "_Yes_, Sirius, occasionally, I do enjoy a late-night walk."

"Well, don't go tonight," Sirius commented, as if it were something she should simply accept.

Although she had to agree, Casey couldn't help but feel that she should retaliate in some way. "It's sort of a weird time for Remus to be going home, isn't it?" she hinted. "It's Wednesday."

Again, Sirius only shrugged. "His mum's proper ill."

"Really sick."

"Don't correct my grammar."

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't screw it up."

"I mucked up that one on accident. Lay off."

"'On accident' isn't right either! It's 'accidentally.'"

"Tart."

"Twit."

"So long as we're clear on the subject."

"Agreed."

"I'm going to the kitchens. You want to come?"

"Yeah. I never liked studying anyways."

Two minutes later, they were strolling down a deserted corridor deep within the castle. Sirius kept "accidentally" bumping Casey's shoulder, and she occasionally (and also "accidentally") bumped back a bit more forcefully.

"You… are… so… _beautiful_," Sirius sang softly, giving Casey's shoulder a good bump with his own, "to me." Casey glanced at him oddly out of the corner of her eye. "You are so _beautiful_," another bump, "to me…" Sirius slid an arm around her waist and whipped her around so that he could capture her arm in the other. "Can't you see?" With that, he began to dance Casey down the hall, continuing with his Ray Charles impression. "You're everything I've hoped for. You're everything I need!" Casey pinched her lips together to keep from laughing as his really quite brilliant voice cracked comically. "You are so beautiful," he finished quietly, slowing down the dance, pulling Casey a bit closer, and staring into her eyes very seriously, "to me."

For a moment, Casey was understandably speechless. Here was this boy, who could rightfully be called an Adonis, and he was singing a love song to her. Never before in her life had she been hit on so incessantly. How was she to know how to handle this, and how long it would last? Part of her really did _want_ to give him a chance; he was, after all, _Sirius Black_. That tragic little feminine part of her longed to correct a hopeless case, and date him just so she could say that he would change for her.

But she was smarter than that by far.

"You," she said carefully, "have got to be the most self righteous person on the planet." Immediately, the analytical and logical part of her brain leapt up and demanded that she admit that that was not true. "No, I take that back," she muttered. "Riddle is much more self righteous than you, but still! You need to cut it out, Sirius. This is getting old." Casey pulled out of Sirius's arms and, spotting a large picture of assorted fruit, stalked toward it.

Sirius stared after her for a moment before stomping after her. "Now, that is just unreasonable," he said sharply, stopping next to Casey, who was scanning the portrait for a certain pear. "The thing that is getting old is you rejecting me. I have been nothing but friendly since you've gotten here, and you're fending me off like I'm asking for something horrible. I would _like_ to be your _friend_, McCarthy. If you want me to give up on the 'more than friends' thing, then so be it!"

"Ha!" Casey exclaimed. "Sirius Black never gives up; it's a known fact." She finally caught sight of the pear and reached up, standing on tiptoes to tickle the painted fruit. The pear wriggled, and the portrait opened with a strong click.

"Well… I could pretend that I'd given up, but secretly be working towards my goal, couldn't I?" Sirius demanded, stalking after Casey as she strolled into the kitchens.

Casey rolled her eyes and scanned the room for a House Elf. "That would make you a Slytherin, Sirius, and I highly doubt you want to be accused of that."

Sirius huffed. "What's the big deal, anyway? Most girls would love to be in your position."

"Girls in general are stupid, Sirius; it's something you're going to have to learn. Besides, why do you like _me_, of all people? I'm not witty, I'm not pretty, you've known me a grand total of eleven days, and I've been nothing but rude to you the entire time!"

Sirius frowned at her. "_I_ think you're pretty, and how the bloody hell did you know where the kitchens were and how to get in?"

Casey froze.

In the echoing silence that followed, a House Elf shuffled out from behind a counter and approached hopefully, wringing its hands together. Sirius eyed it before smiling tightly at Casey. "Want anything?"

Casey swallowed. "Reuben sandwich?" she whispered.

Sirius turned stiffly back to the Elf and gave it a genuine smile. "A Reuben sandwich and spaghetti to go, please, Tibby. Perhaps a thermos of butterbeer too?"

Tibby tittered and fluttered happily out of sight, appearing only seconds later with a small picnic basket. Sirius accepted it, thanked the Elf, and marched out the door. Casey watched him go anxiously before saying a quiet thank you to Tibby and following.

They had been walking for a good five minutes before Casey realized that they weren't heading toward the Gryffindor common room. Biting her lip nervously, she asked quietly, "Where are we going?"

"Outside," Sirius replied shortly. "The walls have ears, so I think you would prefer to have this conversation where they cannot hear."

"Oh." Casey folded her arms across her chest. Well, that proved that he was at least thoughtful.

Sirius didn't slow his pace once they got outside. He pushed relentlessly through the snow, forcing a trail for Casey to shuffle along behind in. They had both, luckily, been wearing their robes over their warmer clothes, as the castle was drafty during the winter, and Casey pulled her hands back in her sleeves before pinching the ends shut in her fists. It was a perfectly clear, crisp day, but still bitingly cold.

Just as Casey was ready to give up and ask again where they were going, they reached the Forbidden Forest, and Sirius announced, "It's not far now." Fortunately, the snow thinned once they made it into the shelter of the trees, and Casey was able to catch her breath.

As they walked past tree after identical tree, Casey began to wonder if they were actually heading to a specific place, or if Sirius was just attempting to get them far enough into the dangerous forest for something exciting to happen to them. This theory was proved wrong, though, in another minute, when Sirius stopped before a particularly large tree. He set the picnic basket on the ground and spread his arms. "This," he said proudly, "is my tree."

Casey stared blankly at the tree. It was… a tree. A rather ugly one, at that. "It's… great," she said with attempted enthusiasm.

Sirius was entirely focused on "his" tree, grinning at it like an old friend. "I found it in my second year when I was wandering around during a full moon… there was a werewolf prowling around and I hid in this very tree until it had gone away. I come here when I want to be safe from it all."

Casey shifted her weight to her other foot uncomfortably. "Are there werewolves in these woods?" she asked cautiously.

Sirius's grin widened. "Only one, and he won't be out until after the sun goes down."

Casey blinked, astonished by his carelessness. Of course, someone who had no idea about Remus might not have caught the obvious hint, but to her it was quite apparent.

"So," Sirius said, sitting down and leaning against his tree, "what is a Reuben sandwich, anyway?" He patted the spot next to him invitingly, and then began shuffling through the picnic basket.

"Corned beef and sauerkraut on rye bread," Casey said absently as she sat down next to Sirius. "Sometimes there's mustard too."

Sirius nodded, handing her the wrapped sandwich and an opened bottle of what she assumed to be butterbeer. "Interesting. The mustard might not go too well with the butterbeer."

Casey wrinkled her nose, peeking into the bottle with interest. "What's in it?"

"Butter and beer, I would assume. Though, James and I did try to make it ourselves that way when we were eleven, and we didn't fare very well."

Casey chuckled and unwrapped her sandwich, pulling the bread apart to make sure that everything was in place. There was mustard. "There's mustard," she informed Sirius off-handedly.

"Mm," he replied, mouth already full of spaghetti. Swallowing, he said matter-of-factly, "They never can get spaghetti quite right. I imagine that perfect spaghetti will have the tiniest spice to the sauce. The noodles have to be perfect, too. Not many people can get noodles perfect."

Thinking back to the hundreds of ramen packs that she'd cooked over the years, Casey mentioned, "I'm good with noodles."

Sirius only shrugged. "Not to put you down or anything, but I've heard many a person say that, and it's never true."

Casey shrugged back, not really caring what he thought as long as she got her Reuben sandwich. It didn't take either of them long to finish their snacks, but Sirius was done a few seconds before Casey, and he watched her until she'd polished off the crumbs of her sandwich.

Finally, as she crumbled the sandwich wrapper in her hand and eyed the untouched bottle of butterbeer, Sirius asked, "So how did you know where the kitchens were?"

Casey picked up her butterbeer and stared into it. "You had stopped walking."

Sirius's eyes narrowed skeptically. "How did you know how to get _in_ the kitchens?"

Casey chewed her lip and stared harder at the butterbeer. "The pear… stood out. So I touched it, and the door opened."

Sirius sighed heavily and sat his butterbeer bottle down with a thump. "I may play the part well, Casey," he said coolly, "but I am anything but stupid. Now how did you know?"

Casey shifted uncomfortably. Unable to think of an inconspicuous answer, and knowing that she'd run out of time to give one, she blurted out, "Who has their own tree, anyway? I mean, unless you're an environmentalist, and you're trying to save it from getting cut down, it just isn't done!"

Sirius glared. "Don't bash the tree," he said dangerously.

"I'll bash whatever I want!" Casey shrieked hysterically, throwing her butterbeer to the ground and standing to her feet. "If you aren't going to tell me one of your big secrets, I'm not telling you how I got in the kitchens." Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but she wagged a finger at him, ranting, "And it can't be about your parents and how 'they don't love me, and I hate them, and they're just stupid Death-Eaters.' I can figure that out on my own, thank you very much."

A muscle in Sirius's jaw twitched. For a moment, he simply stared at her coldly, and then he stood up slowly and stepped closer to Casey than she would have liked. "Do not presume," he said warningly, "that you know everything about me. Granted, it seems that you are quite fully aware of my big secrets, but you have not the slightest idea of who I am."

Determined not to take a step back in fear, Casey gritted her teeth and bit out, "Ditto."

Sirius watched her pensively for a long minute before turning his gaze uninterestedly to the ground where her butterbeer bottle lay, long bereft of its contents. "You dropped your butterbeer," he informed her quietly.

"I know," Casey said, a bit annoyed at the sudden change of subject.

Sirius continued to stare at the bottle. "You won't get to try it now."

There was something about the way he was addressing her. They had both successfully maneuvered around the real issues, neither one trusting the other enough to reveal anything. That may have been the problem, Casey realized. She had assumed that she knew him well enough to make every judgment in the world about him. Sirius was attracted to her for some reason that only God knew (which probably had something to do with her being a bit of a mystery), and automatically assumed a semi-intimate relationship with her that there was no basis for. In short, they had both moved too far too fast.

Meekly, she asked, "Do you have any left?"

"Yeah," Sirius said, shuffling his feet as if he didn't know what to do next.

Casey rubbed her cold nose with a stiff hand. "Can I have a sip of yours, then?" she requested softly.

The corners of Sirius's mouth tilted upwards. "Yeah," he said. "You can try mine."

* * *

Casey trailed to the side of Lily and Alice as they headed down for dinner later that day. The girls were discussing anything and everything that girls normally did, but Casey still felt a distinctive gap between them and herself. They had, after all, been going to the same school for six years, and she hadn't even been there for six weeks yet. They were kind enough to automatically include her when they headed down for meals, though the same could not be said for most of their other activities. Half of the time, Casey was being accosted by Sirius, and the other half, Casey holed up in the safety of her bed, drawing the curtains just enough to give herself privacy without closing out the light. 

As they strolled down the corridors and through throngs of students, Casey felt the urge to walk entirely separately from her companions, as she wasn't really included in the conversation, but the other students were still watching her carefully and whispering at her every move, so she stuck close. In the sea of faces, she could only name a few, and only because they were in her classes and made particular impressions on her (boy-crazy girls who sat behind her in Transfiguration and perverted boys who sat next to her in Charms to name a few).

Because she wasn't deeply absorbed in the conversation between to the two other female Gryffindor sixth years, she was the first to notice the commotion. There were several students crowded around something, and spiteful voices could be heard from within the throng. She frowned.

"What in Merlin's name...," Lily muttered, finally noticing the disturbance. "Excuse me!" she immediately declared, elbowing her way through the crowd. "I am a Prefect; please _excuse_ me…"

Alice raised her eyebrows at Casey before snatching Lily by the back of her robes and Casey with her other hand. The three of them took a quick, straight route through the onlookers, but Lily stopped short when she reached the inside. Scowling at her friend's back, Alice shoved her to the side and yanked Casey up to the front so that all three of them could see what was going on.

They had come up just behind the Marauders, two of which were standing back, watching the show with unenthusiastic interest. The only active participant on their side was Sirius, who was nearly trembling with fury as he and Severus Snape traded stinging insults, clenching their wands in white-knuckled hands.

A bump from the rowdy crowd behind them sent the girls into the inner circle just behind the Marauders. Casey immediately stepped in-between James and Peter, giving them each a questioning look. Peter looked typically nervous, and even James appeared to be the slightest bit worried. What exactly was going _on_?

"What your family must think of you, Black. I heard they even struck your name from the family tree. Isn't that reassuring?" Snape purred sadistically.

Sirius's chin lifted defiantly. "Everyone knows about that by now, Snape, really, is that the best you can come up with?"

"That's a fine speech coming from _you_, Black, a mudblood-loving Gryffindor. You're as good as a Muggle."

Casey glared. Muggles weren't all bad, thanks.

"Why don't you give up like the weak, slimy git that you are, and go back to playing with your chemistry set," Sirius snapped, every inch of him rigid with hatred.

"We'll see who is _weak_ tonight, Black, won't we?" Snape sneered.

"Yes, we will," Sirius said in an equally venomous voice.

Unconsciously, Casey took a step toward him, not hearing Lily's worried, "_Casey_!" _What are you playing at_? she wanted to hiss at him.

Her small movement called more attention to her than she wanted. Snape's gaze fell on her, and an icy chill flew up her spine as she recognized the malevolent glee. Wishing she could squirm away, she crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight so that she was further hidden behind Sirius.

Seeing that Snape's attention was somewhere else, Sirius followed his gaze until he saw Casey trying to make herself look small behind him. Slowly, his muscles relaxed and his face softened. He held out his hand, forcing a comforting smile. "Come on, Casey," he said reassuringly.

Preferring him to Snape, Casey promptly slipped her hand into his larger one and allowed him to draw her close enough to slip his arm around her waist. He gave Snape one last cold look before pulling Casey with him out of the crowd, which parted readily and with awe. James, Peter, Lily, and Alice followed close behind.

"What was that about?" Casey asked once they had gotten far enough away from the other students.

"Don't worry about it," Sirius replied shortly, still keeping his arm snug around her waist.

"Sirius," Casey said with a hint of laughter in her voice, "if it has to do with you and Snape, I'll always be worried." Sirius smirked for a second, but quickly withdrew into his own thoughts again. Casey looked up at him solemnly. "Was it about that thing that you won't tell me?" she asked quietly.

He was silent for a few long moments. "Yes. Do you know about it because of the thing you won't tell me?"

Casey bit her lip. "Yes."

"So long as we're clear on that point."

"Okay."

Sirius continued to escort her until he had seen her seated comfortably at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. With a gallant bow, he bid her a good meal, and strode away to sit with James and Peter several seats away. Lily and Alice sat down with Casey, all three of them staring at the Marauders.

"That is, I think," Lily said slowly, narrowing her eyes at the boys, "the first time that they haven't sat with us since you arrived, Casey."

"And they only ever sit away from Lily when they're plotting something or distracted," Alice added, "so don't feel too badly about the change."

Lily rolled her eyes regally at her friend before turning her attention to the food in front of her. Alice smirked at Casey and did the same, but Casey couldn't quite pull her eyes away from the Marauders. The wheels turned frantically in her head, trying to figure out how badly Sirius and Snape had angered each other. Had her encounter with Snape the other day had anything to do with it?

Sirius glanced up and caught her eye. His mouth twitched into a brief reassuring smile, but it was gone before she'd realized it had been there, and he turned back to his friends, brow furrowed darkly.

* * *

"Potter, where's Remus? I have a question about our Charms assignment." 

Casey looked away from the window, which she was huddled up against, to watch Lily and James once again interact. Lily was standing stiff as a board, anticipating having to defend herself from unwanted advances yet again, but it didn't happen. James simply checked his watch, and then flipped to the next page in his book. "Remus went home for the night, Evans. You know how sick his grandmum gets."

Casey frowned. "His grandma?" she thought aloud. "But… he said his mom was sick…"

James glanced up at her sharply, and exchanged glances with Sirius. "Well, yeah, Casey. It's his mum's side of the family, see, so he just always says it's his mum."

Lily narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What about when his father's sick?"

At a nearly imperceptible nod from Sirius, James whined, "Why are you so interested in Remus, Evans? He isn't near as interesting as me. Granted, he's got the whole mysterious element, but this is just ridiculous!" At that, James and Lily began hollering at each other about their various faults.

Casey smiled at the display and turned back to gazing out the window at the beautiful Scottish landscape.

"What're you looking at?" Sirius asked quietly as he joined her on the window seat.

Casey shrugged and leaned her forehead against the glass. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sirius eye her uncertainly. He scooted a bit closer, his gaze fixed on her face. Casey resisted the urge to shrink away, and instead squirmed uncomfortably.

As if ignoring her discomfort completely, Sirius reached out and snatched one of her hands. "What do you know?" he asked.

Casey shrugged absently, using the movement as an excuse to pull her hand away.

Sirius immediately snatched it again. Trying not to be too obvious, she gave a little tug, but found that it was held fast. "What do you know?" Sirius asked again.

"Please don't touch me," Casey murmured, trying again to pull her hand away, her skin crawling uncomfortably.

"Why not?" Sirius asked, a playful grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"I don't… I'm not…" she stuttered, stomach clenching nervously.

"Casey," Sirius interrupted, scooting closer so he could see her eyes, "you hate it when I touch you. When I get close to you, you shiver. At first I thought it was the fact that I'm handsome, and you know it…" Casey rolled her eyes, "…but you don't… why do you do that?"

"I… I was homeschooled…" she began, voice trailing off as she tried to think of a way to explain it without sounding prudish. She glanced up at Sirius to see him watching her with outward patience. His eyes, though… his eyes betrayed him. He was itching to find out the truth, desperate to have what he wanted at the exact moment he wanted it. "I'm not… _touched_… often." She gave a jumpy little laugh. "I'm not around guys that often. You just… I'm…."

"You're nervous," Sirius concluded, sitting up straight.

"No," she immediately said, knowing instinctively that she was anything but that around him. "The thing is… do you remember, the other day in the library, when you asked me if all men make me nervous?" Sirius nodded slowly. "Well… I think that all men make me nervous… except you." Casey glanced hesitantly up at Sirius to see his reaction.

He only blinked and stared at her with an oddly fascinated gaze.

Casey shifted in her seat and turned back to look out the window again. The moon glowed brightly, the sky around it littered with millions of stars. Far below, the trees of the Forbidden Forest cast haunting shadows over the lawn, the main entrance of the castle just visible before the building wound away in another direction. Frowning she leaned her head closer to the window. Was that… had she just seen someone come out of the doors?

Sure enough, a small black speck crept down the walkway a few meters before veering to the left and slithering down the dark, grassy slopes. Casey had been at Hogwarts long enough to recognize the sweeping, stalking gate of Snape when she saw it. "What…?" she muttered, staring in mild alarm as Snape disappeared down the hills.

"Do you see something?" Sirius asked.

"Snape's outside," she answered automatically, eyes fixed on the spot where Snape had vanished.

"Oh yeah," Sirius said, a grin pulling forcefully at his lips. "Yeah, he'll get a scare. He won't bother you again, Casey."

She almost didn't catch it. It nearly flew over her head before she grasped it and turned sharply to stare in horror at Sirius. "No…" she said quietly. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "No!" She nearly fell in her haste to jump off the window seat and race to James, shoving Lily out of the way carelessly. "Snape's headed towards the Whomping Willow," she said before either Lily or James could protest at the sudden interruption of their argument.

James blinked, and then visibly forced himself to relax. "So? I'll say, he deserves a good whomp."

Casey practically dove at him, leaning so that their faces were unusually close. "He is _not_ going to get _whomped_," she bit out angrily.

Again, James blinked, but this time realization sneaked onto his face, and Casey had to leap backwards so their heads wouldn't knock together as James sprang from the couch.

"Ah, give it a rest, Casey," Sirius said, sauntering into view. "He's just getting a good scare; nothing's going to happen to him." He smirked confidently.

Casey stared at him in disbelief. "He is going to _die_!" she shouted.

The muscles in Sirius's jaw spasmed in determination, but he visibly paled.

"Padfoot," James said slowly, "what did you do?"

Sirius shifted ever so slightly, something he never did. He was beginning to doubt himself, and it showed. "Just told ol' Snivellus how to handle the Whomping Willow, that's all," he said shakily, trying to pass it off as his normal cocky speech.

"_What_ is going on?" Lily finally jumped in, perturbed.

James stared at Sirius. For one long moment, he looked as if his best friend had just betrayed him. Finally, he whispered, "Bloody _hell_, Sirius," and then he turned around and dashed out the Portrait Hole.

Casey had never realized how many emotions that night must have held. "How could you do that?" she hissed, looking with loathing on the boy she now considered to be the most unintelligent in the world. "How could you be so _stupid_? Don't you know," she spat, stomping toward Sirius and glaring at him with every ounce of disappointment she could muster, "what you've just done to him?"

"Snape'll be fine, Casey, if that's what you're—"

That was when Casey punched him, using every muscle she knew to hurt him as much as possible. Sirius staggered backward, a hand flying to his cheek and strings of black hair falling over his face. For years, she had wanted to tell Sirius off for that evil deed; now, she had that chance, and she used it with relish. "He will _never_ forgive you," Casey snapped, carefully leaving the specific name out. "He may eventually let you be his friend again, but he will _never_ forgive you." Catching her breath and stepping back, trembling, she glanced at Lily and Peter, who were both looking very awkward and very alarmed. A tear slipped down her cheek as she turned her eyes to the floor. "I'm going to get Dumbledore," she said softly, and left quietly.

She didn't get far before Sirius caught up with her. They walked quickly and silently together, both understanding that it was not the time to talk about what had just been said. It was during that short walk that Casey began to wonder if she had been a bit too harsh. After all, Sirius would have a full twelve years to regret every mistake he'd ever made… did he really need her to tell him about it too? By the time they had reached Dumbledore's office, Casey had succeeded in making herself feel very guilty about bashing her favorite character… verbally and physically.

Surprisingly, she didn't have to speak to the headmaster at all. Sirius did all the talking, explaining quite thoroughly the situation, including his own fault. Casey couldn't help but gain back a little of her admiration for him. Whatever mistakes he made, and despite his pride, Sirius was a Gryffindor, and Slytherin enough to know when to admit that he had done something and when to brush it off without concern.

Casey shuffled her feet and glanced around the room, quickly losing interest as the story she'd heard told a thousand times was repeated for the thousand-and-first. Dumbledore unquestionably had the coolest office ever. It was full to the brim with books, odd-looking little gadgets, and warm light. The walls were chalk full of portraits of past headmasters, all of whom were leaning forward, peering with interest at the two visitors. One of them, a particularly severe-looking man, caught Casey's eye and gave her a very cool once-over. Casey frowned and moved on to the next portrait, which, she discovered, was empty. As she continued to stare at it, a tiny figure came bounding into the painting, skidding around a far corner and charging to the front of the picture.

"Albus!" the little figure shouted as it drew closer. "Headmaster, there are two boys – James Potter and Severus Snape – they've just entered the castle together. Snape's got his wand drawn, and Potter's got a broken arm, I think."

Casey blinked up at the portrait, staring blankly as something occurred to her. "That portrait… is talking," she said slowly.

"A quite ingenious invention, isn't it, Miss McCarthy?" Dumbledore said, only a slight tint of cheerfulness present in his voice. He stood up, moving as if stiff, and nodded to the talking portrait. "Thank you, Aurelius. Please inform Mr. Snape and Mr. Potter that I am on my way."

The little panting man nodded and disappeared out a side door in the portrait.

"Mr. Black, Miss McCarthy, please go back to your common room. I will handle the situation now, I think."

In any other situation, Casey would have expected Sirius to smirk and say firmly, "No." But in this situation, he simply nodded meekly and left the office with a bowed head.

Casey made to follow him, but paused when Dumbledore called her. "Miss McCarthy." Casey turned to look at him. Dumbledore lowered his head to gaze at her seriously. "You would be best to remember that that boy depends a great deal on those he trusts."

Casey shook her head sadly. "He shouldn't trust me," she said softly.

Dumbledore smiled. "But he does. Sirius does not trust many as readily as he trusted you, and that is something to be treated with care."

Casey nodded and made her way out of the office, anxious to get back to the common room to find out what else was going on. Adrenaline still pumping, she sped down the corridors, ignoring screaming lungs and a frantically beating heart, and pushing herself to run faster.

As she stepped through the Gryffindor portrait hole a moment later, she came upon Lily pleading with Peter. "Peter, _please_, tell me what is going on. Casey knows; it's not as if you can't tell me."

"He can't tell you," Casey said as she stepped aside so the portrait could close. "James, however, can, so I suggest you ask him."

"In case you hadn't noticed, Casey," Lily said harshly, "James isn't here. He acted as if Sirius had killed his best friend, and then ran out the door after something _you _told him. To save _Snape_, of all people, from what I can gather. Now, Casey, tell me something, since you obviously know these boys so much better than I do. Why would he do that? James hates Snape more than he hates steamed carrots."

Throughout the speech, Casey felt progressively more taken aback. Lily had seemed sweet and nurturing since the first moment that Casey had met her, but as she spoke, her hair became more red, and her eyes flashed. Power seemed to swell around her… and then she mentioned the steamed carrots, and Casey couldn't help snorting.

Peter stared at her in shock. "Casey, this is serious. James hates steamed carrots almost as much as he hates Snape!"

Casey blinked. "I… gathered that, Peter." Giving him another blank look, Casey turned to Lily. "Lily, I _can't tell you_. To be completely honest, I have next to no idea of what's going on right now. James will be back, though, okay? Don't worry."

A slightly disgusted look crossed the redhead's face. "I'm not _worried_ about _Potter_, Casey, but something _wrong_ is going on tonight, and I intend to find out what it is."

Casey clenched her hands and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling to keep from glaring at the other girl. Lily may have been one of the coolest people to ever exist, but she was asking Casey to break an oath, and a very important one at that. While she had never actually made the oath to anyone that mattered, she had somehow managed to decide once and for all that this was a secret that she would have to keep, along with a thousand other secrets about herself.

Unable to think of something to answer Lily with, Casey lowered her eyes to the floor and shuffled past the other girl, heading back to the window seat and climbing up onto it once again.

"Casey," Lily reiterated forcefully, "you can tell me! You know all of us so well." Casey opened her mouth to say that she didn't really, but Lily held up a hand. "I don't need to hear how. Just… you _know_ that you can trust me."

"But she can't tell you, Evans," said a tired voice from the portrait hole. Lily whipped around to glare at Sirius, whose once arrogantly tilted head hung at a shameful angle. Sirius gazed at her for a moment before heaving a tired sigh. "Look, Evans, I promise it'll all be explained in the morning, all right? Just lay off." He shuffled over and sank down onto the couch, leaning his head back and closing his eyes with a pained expression. "You girls go up to bed. Dumbledore's coming, and you don't need to be in the middle of this."

"You mean you don't want us to hear what he's going to say to you," Casey pointed out testily, scrunching her nose distastefully at him.

"Casey," Sirius snapped before catching himself and forcing his voice to calm to a resentful but tolerant level, "I realize that you saved Snivellus's life tonight, but this is _still_ not your problem, so unless you want to tell me _how_ you know what you do, I have absolutely no desire to talk to you."

Casey's nose scrunched even further in insult. She raised her chin curtly and stalked straight past Peter, joining Lily on the stairs as they both grudgingly left the room. At the top of the stairs, Lily gave her a sideward look of disappointment and swept through the door to the girls' dormitory. Sirius's voice floated up from the common room, tersely prodding Peter to head upstairs as well, as apparently he wouldn't be of much use in the situation. Casey bit her lip and hid behind a pillar as Peter dragged his feet up the stairs and into the boys' dormitory. When she was sure that Sirius thought they'd all gone to bed, Casey crept halfway back down the stairs and crouched on the steps, ears straining to take in every sound from downstairs.

No way she was skipping something this important…

… especially if Sirius didn't want her there.

* * *

An interesting little tidbit: January 5, 1977 actually was a full moon in the England. MWAHA! I spent some of my time looking that up so I could get it just right… 

Sirius's tree was entirely inspired by _Solarism's_ **Deconstruct, A Memoir**, one of my favorite stories of all time. It's a classic, and very poetically written… don't miss it!

I promise to try and update sooner this time… in fact, I can almost guarantee it. I only have 3 weeks left at school, and then I'm home for a month (WOOHOO!). Suffice it to say, I'll get just a _bit_ of writing done during that time…

**Don't forget** to check out the Yahoo!Group at http:(double slash)groups. yahoo. com/ group/travelers(underscore)universe/

Review, please!


	10. January 6, 1977

**A/N: **I'm sorry that it's taken a lifetime, guys. I don't even want to begin explaining everything that's going on in my life. Most of it's not too good. The good news, though, is that I have at least two classes in which I have to pay next to no attention… so I write. This entire chapter was written in the past month during classes… so I guess you could say I took a bit of a sabbatical for the rest of the time.

I'm back, though, so no worries. I promise I'll never actually drop a story… not in the Traveler series, anyway. Lord knows I've dropped Lia Malfoy and Caslin for good. Le sigh.

Welcome to you first-time readers, and welcome back to those of you who've chosen to stick around. It's short, but it's something. And we've got a bit of fluff at the end.

Many, many thanks to **Hathor** and **Risa**, my beloved betas, for sticking around!

* * *

**January 6, 1977**

After crouching in the same position for five minutes, Casey's muscles ached and her joints protested. All she wanted to do was shift her weight, but she didn't dare. Even her nose was beginning to itch, so she put a finger firmly under it to keep from sneezing.

She wanted to sit down, but was afraid that if she moved an inch, Sirius would hear and yell at her. There was little else she feared than being yelled at. Confrontation scared the wits out of Casey, quite literally. When anyone confronted her, she clammed up. Her mind went blank. All she could do was cross her arms over her chest and try not to cry.

As such, the idea of Sirius being angry with her wasn't entirely appealing. Though she wanted to be left alone, Sirius was the only person who had been constant about wanting to be around her. She'd kind of like to keep him around.

Casey gnawed her lip nervously. No, she was definitely beginning to think that this was a horrible, _horrible_ idea. Sirius would be positively livid if he found her, and their understanding, which was based on assumptions, was far too unstable for such an ultimate test.

_How long does it take for you to get from the Entrance Hall to Gryffindor_? _When you already know where you're going_, _that is_. She tightened her calf muscle to stretch it. Her nose twitched.

It seemed like she was crouched there for hours before she heard the soft swish of the portrait hole opening. There was deafening silence for a long moment, and then Dumbledore's voice came, soft and dispassionate. "Follow me, please, Mr. Black." Their departure was silent.

The portrait had barely closed before Casey's nose finally erupted in a roaring sneeze. One of her feet slipped off the step, and the next thing she knew, she was lying sprawled at the bottom of the stone steps, groaning at the forming bruises and the clean cut on her cheek.

When she finally made it back to her dormitory, she found that neither she nor Lily could settle their minds enough to sleep. They both lay unmoving on their beds, fully clothed and eyes wide open. With a sigh, Lily sat up and looked at Casey, who stared right back. "I can't stand this," she said.

"I know," Casey said profoundly.

"Well, I propose we do something about it then."

"Okay."

Lily swung her legs over the side of her bed, reaching for a sweater that was draped at the end. "Come on, then," she said quietly, so as not to disturb Alice, who seemed to be quite fast asleep. "I know Potter, or one of the boys, has an invisibility cloak hidden somewhere in their room. It won't take long to find it."

Casey gave Lily an owlish stare. Did she just say what she thought she said? "You want to break the rules?" she whispered.

Even in the dark, Lily's blush was visible. "Well, it's not as if we're going to find anything out by sitting around here." She fidgeted. "You already know everything anyway. Think of it as confirmation."

Casey felt a wave of dread pass over her. Her own nosiness was one thing. Lily's was entirely different. Casey was sure she'd go to hell if she messed up the timeline, and Lily wasn't helping her keep things in order at all.

Lily grasped Casey's hand and pulled her toward the door. "Come on, Casey, _please_! You _know_ you want to know exactly what's going on."

"But I _do _know what's going on!" Casey shrieked quietly as Lily bodily dragged her out the door. Casey refused to get up, so Lily had a bit of trouble hauling her around, and by the time that they both fell through the boys' door, they were not only sweaty and exhausted, but giggling madly.

"Shh…" Lily hissed, but neither of them could calm down right away. Luckily, as Lily soon discovered, it was only Peter besides them in the room. "Thank Merlin he'd sleep through a nuclear explosion. But where is Remus?" she whispered.

Casey whispered back, "He went to visit his sick… um… grandmother, remember?"

Lily gave her a skeptical look before shifting onto her feet and tip-toeing to the trunk nearest the door. She frowned at the bed and suddenly seemed to realize that Casey wasn't behind her. "Casey, come _on_!" she hissed as she bent over and pulled open the lid of the trunk that accompanied the bed. She peeked inside and immediately shut it again. "Didn't think so. Too neat. Casey, come on!"

Casey groaned and climbed to her feet, following Lily to the second bed. Lily immediately began prying at the lid of the trunk, muttering that this _had _to be "that prat's bed." Casey agreed, actually. Maybe Lily was just looking at the dirty clothes that were strewn all over the bed, but Casey had spotted a ratty piece of fabric poking out from under the pillow. It was dotted with fluttering little golden snitches. Casey shook her head in amusement before shifting her gave to the next bed.

It was exactly what she didn't expect from Sirius, but which actually made perfect sense. What she did expect was something almost exactly like James's bed, with the scattered clothes, the blankets wadded up at the end of the bed, and random things hanging from the canopy. But this… Sirius's entire part of the room was cleaner and neater than even Remus's. It was eerie. In fact, it was sort of creepy. What in the world motivated him to be such a neat freak? There wasn't a single wrinkle in the bed clothes, no stray sweater laid at the end of the bed…

"Aha!" Lily said triumphantly. "I've got it! Come on, let's go." Casey followed her obediently from the room. As soon as they'd crept down the stairs to the common room, Lily turned to her, gripping the silvery cloak with such excitement that her hands shook. "All right," she said, opening the cloak and sorting all the twists out. "Now, I propose that we make directly for the hospital wing. Potter's bound to be there by now, isn't he?"

Casey barely managed to keep from rolling her eyes. For hating Potter so much, Lily certainly was obsessed with him.

By the time they'd made it to the hospital wing, the girls' faces were flushed with the exhilaration of rebellion… and Casey had to wonder if the boys even managed to _fit_ under the cloak anymore. It certainly didn't seem possible after all the trouble the two girls had gone through to keep their toes covered.

They pushed the heavy doors open just enough to slip through, and shuffled into the wing. Casey bit back a grin. She would've bet anything that James was biting Sirius's head off, even if the mediwitch had confined him to the Ward for the time being.

At first, her eyes landed on Snape, who looked grumpy even when fast asleep. He had a scratch at the top of his forehead that the mediwitch had probably left alone to teach him a lesson. Lily drew in a deep, sharp breath. Casey turned her attention to James's bed on the other side of the wing and winced.

Sirius was seated close to James's bed, leaning forward with his hands stretched out to James on top of the blankets. But James lay on his side with his back facing Sirius, face stony and set. Casey tried to glare at Sirius, tried for Remus's sake to be angry with him… but the utter heartbreak on his face… still, as she'd seen before, Sirius was a beyond-brilliant actor. No doubt he was at least _sorry_ for what he'd done, but now that she and Lily had actually crept close enough to see the boys' eyes, she had to doubt the sincerity of the emotion that played over his face. His eyes were sorry enough… but he was above all defiant.

"So he's not sorry in the least," she muttered in Lily's ear.

"What?" Lily whispered back.

Casey shook her head. "Never mind. We should go. Come on."

So they left, creeping as quietly from the wing as they'd come.

Outside, they slipped the cloak off and wandered unconcerned up the halls toward Gryffindor tower. There was a roaring in Casey's ears as they made their way along the corridors. She didn't even hear Lily's haughty whispers, complaining that if Potter wasn't such an idiot he wouldn't be in that "ridiculous" situation in the first place.

By the time they got back to the tower, Casey was worn out. As if a "normal" day wasn't stressful enough, Sirius the Moron had gone and proved that, even separated from his family, he was still a Black, through and through, and Blacks seldom looked beyond immediate satisfaction.

She tossed and turned in bed that night. As exhausted as she was, Casey's mind raced with every thought she'd ever had about that night. She didn't get much sleep before Lily woke her up for breakfast, and was dismayed to find upon stepping into the washroom that the previous night's events had taken their toll. Her hair refused to cooperate, leaving Casey a curtain of thin, oily wasps to hide behind. Her bloodshot eyes didn't help, nor did the circles beneath them. She also sported a lovely swollen bruise on her left cheek from her tumble down the stairs the night before. It hurt like hell, but a single bruise wouldn't have bothered her if it didn't seem that she'd also split the skin pretty well. So, all in all, she appeared to be a female Snape who'd been hit by someone who wore a ring.

Casey winced as she dabbed at the cut with a rag. "Casey, come on! The boys are bound to be at breakfast; I want to see what happens!" Lily called, knocking on the door. Casey rolled her eyes at her reflection and continued gingerly trying to clean her cut. "Casey!"

"I don't think I'm going, Lily," Casey called shortly. Honestly, would that girl ever let up?

A few minutes after Lily left, Casey threw down the rag in frustration. Blood was still crusted to her skin, but it bloody _hurt_ trying to clean it herself. "They have _magic_ for this sort of thing," she yelled at her reflection in frustration.

Luckily able to recall the way, Casey arrived in the hospital wing ten minutes later. When she approached the mediwitch for help, however, she was disappointed. The woman huffed that a fourth year should know how to doctor her own bruises by now. Offended by yet another comment that implied she looked younger than she was, Casey replied impatiently that she didn't know how, thanks, and could she please get some help? The witch, equally perturbed with Casey, told her smartly that this would be good practice.

Left by herself while the mediwitch bustled away into her office, Casey grumbled about the possibility of accidentally turning herself green if she attempted it herself. "Assuming that I could do magic to begin with," she muttered.

Suddenly, she heard the soft creak of bed springs and what sounded like a whimper. Alarmed, she scanned the wing. James's and Snape's beds were empty, as expected, and, in fact, there didn't seem to be anybody in the room besides herself. Shaking her head, Casey turned to leave… but then her eye caught sight of a curtained area in the very back of the room. She blinked. If there was no one else here, why curtain off an area?

Mindful of each footfall, Casey crept to the back of the wing. She carefully peeked around the edge of the curtain...

And a very bloody and battered Remus Lupin stared blearily back.

Casey felt like a prize idiot. Of _course_ Remus would be here, and of _course_ he would look like this. It didn't stop her from being shocked at how horribly beaten he appeared.

"Casey?" Remus rasped. He sounded as if he'd been screaming for hours. Come to think of it, with the absence of his friends last night and the scent of human flesh so near, he probably _had_ been screaming for hours.

The sudden sound made Casey jump, and she immediately began to back away, apologizing. "I'm sorry, I didn't know… I mean… I didn't mean to…"

"Casey," Remus rasped again, louder this time. Casey paused and stared back with wide eyes. Remus's lips, cracked and swollen, twitched into a smile. "It's all right to be curious." He motioned for her to come closer, so she moved in to stand next to his bed. "I assume that this is what you were trying to convince our resident mediwitch to tend to," he said, reaching up to her cheek. Casey just stared at him. Remus watched her for a moment before reaching to the bedside table for his wand.

Casey gasped, wincing when he pointed the tip directly at her face. Immediately, the wand was drawn away. "No?" Remus asked. Casey shook her head. "All right then. It's safer to do it the Muggle way anyway. You don't exactly want someone untrained pointing a wand in your face, do you?" She wanted to tell him she trusted him implicitly, but found herself nodding along with him. She really didn't want _anything_ pointed at her face, thank you very much.

Remus relaxed back onto his pillow, his eyes searching her face seriously. "Do you want my help at all?" he finally asked quietly.

Casey frowned. Why the heck not? It took her a moment to realize what he was trying to find out. The second she caught on, she nodded fiercely, still frowning, and hoped that he knew there was no question on her part. If he believed her sincerity, he didn't show it, however. They both stared at each other, frowning thoughtfully. It was Casey who finally moved, opening a drawer in the bedside table and pulling out a clean white cloth. Remus took it wordlessly, magically wet it, and reached out a hand to Casey.

When she stepped closer, Remus gently took a hold of her arm and pulled her closer still until she had seated herself gingerly on the very edge of the bed next to him. He dabbed at the dried blood carefully, testing how well the scab had gripped the skin around the wound.

"How'd you come by this?" Remus asked softly, his voice still hoarse.

"Fell down some stairs," Casey answered automatically.

The corner of Remus's mouth twitched into a tiny, pained smile. "Why didn't you ask Lily or Sirius to help? Or even Alice or James?"

Casey simply kept staring at him. He was still talking about Sirius? Wasn't he… ohhh…. "Did you just wake up?" she asked.

The cloth on her cheek hesitated for a moment before it continued its task. "I fell down some stairs myself on my way back from visiting my mum, but it looks like you fared better than I."

Casey gave him a tense smile, keeping her mouth clamped shut to avoid asking if he fell down stairs _every_ month.

"Didn't Lily offer to help clean you up? I assume Sirius didn't see you, or else he'd have blamed Slytherin and Snape would be in the hospital wing as well."

"They were," Casey blurted. She immediately turned away, squeezing her eyes shut. _Crap crap crap crap holy bloody freaking Mary and all that is holy_… She peeked back at Remus.

"Who was in the hospital wing?" Remus asked quietly.

Casey pursed her lips, knowing she would have to answer. Everything about Remus, except his eyes, appeared utterly exhausted. His eyes, however, were more alert than ever, scanning her face for any sign of trouble.

With a sigh, Casey told him, "James and Snape. Sirius was here for a while as well."

"Why? They didn't play a prank without me, did they?" The question came so quickly that it startled Casey. She recognized Remus's facial expression well, for it was one she was sure she often wore. When the crease in his brow deepened, Casey knew he was torn. Did he believe in the loyalty of his friends, or wisely begin to steel himself against their betrayal? Still, he was examining her very closely.

"Did you really fall down a flight of stairs?" Remus asked.

Casey's eyes involuntary narrowed. "Did you?" she countered without thinking. _Oops_.

Remus's features hardened almost imperceptively. Casey forced herself to maintain her innocent confusion… or the appearance of it, anyway.

They both stared blankly at each other, trying to decide what they should do. They both knew that they'd called each other on their dishonesty.

"Well, Casey," Remus said, laying the cloth aside, "it seems that we are at an impasse."

"I concur," she replied blandly, automatically resorting to repeating phrases from movies ('Catch Me If You Can' in this case).

The corner of Remus's mouth twitched, but his expression remained stern. "Then I propose that we drop the subject entirely and part ways for the day."

Casey nodded. "K." With a final little nod from Remus, she turned and left the curtained enclosure, popping her head back in suddenly to say, "I hope you feel better soon, by the way."

She'd almost made it all the way out of the hospital wing when the mediwitch reappeared and began berating her for obviously coming from Remus's curtained little room. Casey shrank away from the woman, afraid to answer until the mediwitch drew her wand. It was probably only to finally heal the cut Casey had acquired on her cheek, but the witch wielded the wand with such aggression that Casey's frayed nerves rapidly shredded. She shrieked that she was Remus's friend, and she was just checking on him!

Casey threw herself out the doors and sprinted down the hall. Out of a pure burst of adrenalin, she managed to run in a completely random direction, all the time heading upwards. She dodged Nearly Headless Nick at one point, realizing seconds later that, well… she'd passed a _real ghost_.

Still, she ran. She'd long ago stopped running from the mediwitch, and now simply ran from everything else. However, just like on her first day at Hogwarts, even the most extreme amount of adrenalin could not keep her running long enough to make it up all the stairs in Hogwarts. She did make it up a good deal of them, though, and by the time she was worn out and wanted to go back, she couldn't find the stairs that went down.

She wandered the halls helplessly, completely lost. Every door was locked, every new direction was blocked off somehow. When she turned back, she found the way she'd come gone.

She'd just begun to feel so lost that she wanted to curl up against the wall and cry (she hadn't yet because she was afraid she would vanish with the shifting walls) when she spotted a square of daylight shining on the floor up ahead. She hurried down the hall and burst out of the doorway through which the light was shining. It took her only a second to realize that she wasn't alone, that Sirius Black was, in fact, perched on the ledge of the balcony, back against the stone wall, and he was staring out into the glaring sun.

For a moment, Casey stopped breathing, struck by the way the light shone against his pale face, glinted off his hair, and sparkled in his emotionless eyes. When she felt the spinning wave of faintness creeping up on her, a horrifying thought shot through her mind. "Oh no! I'm in love with Sirius Black!" she felt like shouting. As soon as the thought came, though, it was banished with the realization that she simply needed air.

She gasped. _Oh_, _good_. _I was just suffocating myself_, she thought wryly.

Since she'd been running (and then dying), her breathing was loud and heavy enough to alert Sirius to her presence. He turned his head slowly and stared at Casey, who stared right back. _Good Lord_, Casey thought to herself, _is this all I_'_m going to do today_? Annoyed, she glared at Sirius. _Aren_'_t you going to complain_? _Don't you have any excuses_? she wanted to say cruelly. _Stupid_, _stupid_, _stupid boy_!

Sirius attempted his usual lopsided grin without much success. "Everyone's fine, you know," he said, as if trying to move past the horrors of the previous night and get onto the next adventure.

Casey couldn't think of a reply, but said the first thing that came to mind anyway. "I was running and I got lost." She immediately felt like a prize idiot.

Sirius's half-hearted little smile became genuine, and Casey couldn't help the relief that flooded her. "Lost again, Casey?" he joked quietly. "Perhaps you should give up running from everything that scares you."

Casey frowned. "Who says I was scared?"

It was eerie how half-hearted all his actions were. "Would you run if you weren't?"

Casey pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the boy. After a long pause, she answered, "I don't like running."

"Nobody really likes running, Case. It just takes too much courage to stop."

"I don't like courage," she blurted.

Sirius gave a wry little chuckle and held a hand out to her. Casey took his hand hesitatingly, and he pulled her up onto the ledge, seating her in front of him and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Oh, I think you do," he said as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "I think courage is what you want most out of your life."

Casey flinched and pressed her lips together, allowing Sirius to pull her back against his chest. She cared about this boy as one of her only friends in the entire world, but that didn't mean she didn't hate him and how he was always right about her without even trying. That stupid, stupid, _stupid_ boy. "Why are you even out here?" she asked coolly. "It's the middle of the day; you should be in class."

"So should you," he countered, tipping his head to the side so that his temple rested against her ear. "I like looking at the light."

Casey frowned, turning her head a bit to try and look at him. "It's just ordinary daylight. The sunrise or sunset would be more interesting."

"The sunrise and sunset are overrated," he said. Casey was about to take offense when he explained. "Ordinary light… that's the miracle. It's so much more real. We just never take the time to look. Look!"

Casey obeyed, gazing out across the landscape of the Hogwarts grounds. The colors were bright. Every surface the light touched shimmered. With that and Sirius's body heat keeping her warm, she'd never seen a more glorious day.

"Can I trust you?" Sirius finally asked.

"Can I trust you?" she threw back at him. _I_'_m doing that a lot lately_, she thought. Sirius's arms tightened around her waist. _It_'_s too bad you're such a self-centered_ _jerk_. _You're exactly the kind of boy I was hoping for_.

He sighed, burying his face in the crook of her neck a moment later. _I was sent here to take care of you while I can_, _I realize_, she told him silently. _But don_'_t worry_. _There are lots of girls you can hook up with yet_. _We_'_ll find you someone if it kills us_. Casey hugged his arms.

_Though_, _I must admit_, she added, _you do smell divine_.

* * *

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